# CA Anti-Spyware > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/CA_Anti-Spyware > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/CA_Anti-Spyware.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CA_Anti-Spyware > Source revision: 1330864258 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Spyware detection program}} {{Infobox software | name = CA Anti-Spyware (previously PestPatrol) |logo = | screenshot=Pestpatrol05.JPG | screenshot size=300px | caption = Scan results page from {{Proper name|eTrust}} PestPatrol | developer = [CA Technologies](/source/CA_Technologies) | latest_release_version = ([http://www.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/ Total Defense Anti-Virus]) | latest preview version = | operating_system = [Microsoft Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows) ([Microsoft Windows 7](/source/Microsoft_Windows_7), [Windows Vista](/source/Windows_Vista), and [Windows XP](/source/Windows_XP)) | genre = [Anti spyware](/source/Anti_spyware) | license = [Proprietary](/source/Proprietary_software) | website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20100820231906/http://www.ca.com/us/products/detail/CA-Anti-Spyware-for-the-Enterprise.aspx] }} '''CA Anti-Spyware''' is a [spyware](/source/spyware) detection program distributed by [CA, Inc.](/source/CA%2C_Inc.) Until 2007, it was known as '''PestPatrol.''' This product is now offered by Total Defense, Inc.{{cite web|publisher=Total Defense, Inc.|url=http://www.totaldefense.com/home.aspx|title=CA Anti-Spyware is now Total Defense Anti-Virus|access-date=2012-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106004222/http://www.totaldefense.com/home.aspx|archive-date=2012-11-06|url-status=dead}} and has been named '''Total Defense Anti-Virus'''. ==History== PestPatrol, Inc. was a [Carlisle, PA](/source/Carlisle%2C_PA) based software company founded by Dr. David Stang and Robert Bales,{{cite magazine|author=Gross, Grant|url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/95299/CA_buys_PestPatrol_antispyware_developer?taxonomyId=017|title=CA buys PestPatrol antispyware developer|magazine=[Computerworld](/source/Computerworld)|date=August 16, 2004|accessdate=2010-08-20}} which developed PestPatrol and released its first version in 2000. Originally called SaferSite, the company changed its name in 2002 to better reflect the focus of the company. PestPatrol was an anti-malware product, designed to protect a [computer](/source/computer) system against threats such as [adware](/source/adware), [spyware](/source/spyware) and viruses. It performed automated scans of a system's hard disks, [Windows registry](/source/Windows_registry) and other crucial system areas, and enabled manual scans for specific threats, selected from a very long list of known malicious software.{{cite book|last1=Mueller|first1=John Paul|year=2005|title=Microsoft Windows XP power optimization|publisher=[John Wiley and Sons](/source/John_Wiley_and_Sons)|pages=[https://archive.org/details/microsoftwindows0000muel/page/260 260]|isbn=0-7821-4387-3|url=https://archive.org/details/microsoftwindows0000muel/page/260}} Among its unique features were CookiePatrol, which purges spyware cookies, and KeyPatrol, which detects [keylogger](/source/keystroke_logging)s.{{cite journal |title=PestPatrol and Dr. Pott Enter Exclusive Distribution Agreement for Germany, Austria and Switzerland|journal=European Telecom |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1HwH-5uteUIC&dq=pestpatrol&pg=PA15|date=March 2003}} Unlike most anti-spyware programs designed for home use on a single desktop, PestPatrol also provided a solution for the network environments found in enterprises.{{cite journal |last1=Schultz|first1=Keith|title=Spyware Exterminators |journal=[InfoWorld](/source/InfoWorld) |publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |volume=26 |issue=40 |pages=21–50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8DcEAAAAMBAJ&dq=pestpatrol&pg=RA1-PA45|date=Oct 4, 2004}} Among the features that made it appealing for enterprise security administrators was the ability to manage networked desktops remotely.{{cite journal |last1=Mccarthy|first1=Jack|title=CA, McAfee Battle Spyware |journal=[InfoWorld](/source/InfoWorld) |publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |volume=26 |issue=46 |pages=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5DcEAAAAMBAJ&dq=ca+anti-spyware&pg=PA27|date=Nov 15, 2004}} Early versions of the product were criticized for the poor [user interface](/source/user_interface), described alternatively as something that "looks like an application that was ported from [OS/2](/source/OS%2F2), with unclear buttons"{{Cite book |title=Spyware/Adware |publisher=Maximum PC |pages=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwIAAAAAMBAJ&dq=pestpatrol&pg=PA36|date=August 2005}} or a "clunky, text-based UI", but the reviewers praised its malware detection and removal capabilities, stating "PestPatrol is the most effective anti-spyware system - short of a switch to [Linux](/source/Linux) - that we've ever used". It was described by [InfoWorld](/source/InfoWorld) as "one of the most established brands in anti-spyware",{{cite journal |last1=Schultz|first1=Keith|title=Sticking It to Spyware |journal=[InfoWorld](/source/InfoWorld) |publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |volume=27 |issue=38 |pages=43–47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hzcEAAAAMBAJ&dq=pestpatrol&pg=PA23|date=Sep 19, 2005}} and in 2002, it was selected as "Security product of year" by [Network World](/source/Network_World), which cited its ability to detect and remove more than 60,000 types of malware, and its defenses against [Remote Administration Tools](/source/Remote_administration) (RATs).{{cite journal |last1=Schwartau|first1=Winn|title=An Exterminator for Pesky Computer Bugs |journal=[Network World](/source/Network_World) |publisher=IDG Network World Inc |volume=19 |issue=45 |pages=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhkEAAAAMBAJ&dq=pestpatrol&pg=RA1-PT21|date=Nov 11, 2002}} Billing itself as the "Authority in [Spyware](/source/Spyware) Protection," it licensed its [signature files](/source/file_signature){{dn|date=December 2025}} for use in [Yahoo!](/source/Yahoo!) Companion and others. In 2003, along with other anti-spyware and anti-malware companies such as [Webroot](/source/Webroot), [Lavasoft](/source/Lavasoft) and [Aluria](/source/Aluria), it formed an industry [consortium](/source/consortium) to fight malware called the Consortium of Antispyware Technology (COAST).{{cite web|author=Mello, John P. Jr.|url=http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/32206.html?wlc=1282359083l|title=Spyware Targeted at Congressional Hearing|publisher=E-Commerce Times|date=November 20, 2003|accessdate=2010-08-20|archive-date=2011-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616060635/http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/32206.html?wlc=1282359083l|url-status=dead}} [Computer Associates](/source/Computer_Associates) (now CA Technologies) bought PestPatrol in 2004[https://archive.today/20130123193801/http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/CA-Buys-AntiSpyware-Vendor/ CA Buys Anti-Spyware Vendor] and made it a part of its '''{{Proper name|eTrust}}''' computer security line, which includes a [virus scanner](/source/virus_scanner) and a [firewall](/source/firewall_(networking)). Using the newly acquired technology, CA created a [bundle](/source/Product_bundling) named CA Integrated Threat Management (ITM), which consisted of an anti-virus solution and the PestPatrol anti-spyware.{{cite journal |last1=Schultz|first1=Keith|title=Double Trouble for Digital Invaders|journal=[InfoWorld](/source/InfoWorld) |publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |volume=28 |issue=28 |pages=31–32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lzYEAAAAMBAJ&dq=pestpatrol&pg=PA32|date=Jul 10, 2006}}{{cite news |url= http://www.spywareloop.com/news/ca-anti-spyware|title= CA Anti-Spyware in SpyWareLoop.com|author= Vincentas |newspaper=Spyware Loop |date=11 July 2013 |accessdate=27 July 2013}} Renamed CA Anti-Spyware in 2007, the program can be bought separately, or as part of CA Internet Security. In 2007, the CA Anti-Spyware team was instrumental in exposing the fact that [Facebook](/source/Facebook) was collecting personal information about their users, without their knowledge, even when those users opted out of Facebook's ill-fated [Beacon](/source/Facebook_Beacon) program, and even when those users were not logged into Facebook.{{cite magazine|author=Albanesius, Chloe|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/report-facebook-still-spying-on-members-off-site-activities|title=Report: Facebook Still Spying on Members' Off-Site Activities|magazine=[PC Magazine](/source/PC_Magazine)|date=December 5, 2007|access-date=2010-08-20}}{{cite web |url=http://community.ca.com/blogs/securityadvisor/archive/2007/11/29/facebook-s-misrepresentation-of-beacon-s-threat-to-privacy-tracking-users-who-opt-out-or-are-not-logged-in.aspx |last=Berteau |first=Stefan |title=Facebook's Misrepresentation of Beacon's Threat to Privacy: Tracking users who opt out or are not logged in. |date=2007-11-27 |accessdate=2007-12-03 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217062755/http://community.ca.com/blogs/securityadvisor/archive/2007/11/29/facebook-s-misrepresentation-of-beacon-s-threat-to-privacy-tracking-users-who-opt-out-or-are-not-logged-in.aspx |archivedate=2007-12-17 }} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050706111555/http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/ CA Spyware Information Center] {{DEFAULTSORT:Ca Anti-Spyware}} Category:2000 software Category:Spyware removal Category:Computer Associates --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [CA Anti-Spyware](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CA_Anti-Spyware) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CA_Anti-Spyware?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.