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Spy Software

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by jclausen

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Is there a utility or software that will let you find what has been downloaded on you PC? This would have to work after the fact, in other words I want see what has been downloaded in the past.

Thanks

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by john.a.wills

The latest upgrade of Symantec Norton Anti-Virus software includes detection of spyware and checks your disk(s) as well as whatever comes in.

by toivo talikka

You may be able to find some forensic applications that do exactly what you want. However, it is possible to do some analysis just manually, in addition to running anti spyware tools like Spybot Search & Destroy.

Sources of information:

- go to the C:\Program Files folder and click the 'Date Modified' heading twice to sort the program folders in descending date order to see what applications have recently been installed

- go to the C:\Windows directory and check the subfolders 'Downloaded Installations' and 'Downloaded Program Files'

- go to each user profile in C:\Documents and Settings and check the subfolders under 'Local Settings' which provide plenty of information about past activities, assuming that the user has not covered their tracks by clearing the browser history, cookies and temporary internet files

- in each profile you will also find the folder 'Application Data' which may contain folders set up by IM (instant messaging) products which may have downloaded various installation and graphics files from chat forums

If you suspect that something illegal has been going on, you may want to contact the local authorities first before tampering with the main exhibit, the computer and possibly jeopardising the legal process. The experts would normally clone the hard drive under controlled circumstances first, using a disk-to-disk method, to have an exact copy of the hard drive which can be used as evidence at court.

Do a search on TR using the keyword 'forensics' and you will find some expert advice on the topic.

by parthiv_13

Get PC tools - Registry Mechanic software version 5.0.0.144 or any version but should be v 5 minimum. And You can find what sort of the changes are made to your system either by installing manually or by spyware or adware. So you can make changes afterwards manually. You will find this tool from www.download.com

Good Luck and hope this works for your need. If you find any other solution pls let me know through message.

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