Best Anti-Spyware Software Reviews
While viruses are generally designed to cause damage or corruption, spyware works in a radically different way. In some cases, the workings of spyware components can be so subtle that you don’t even realize you are infected.
In the worst case, a spyware infection will try to capture your personal information without your knowledge. In addition to stealing your personal information, spyware can contribute to identity theft and system crashes.
There is no shortage of tools that claim to help you remove spyware, but some of these are extremely disreputable products that can end up doing more harm than good. Let’s take a look at some of the best.
Windows Defender
Windows Defender is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it is detected, minimizes interruptions, and helps you stay productive.
Now with 2 incidents of free support for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Windows Defender is a decent tool, and it’s worth installing on Windows XP if you don’t have any real-time protection installed. It does not detect as many threats as any other software on the market, so it is a good idea to use it in conjunction with other on-demand scanners.
Webroot Spysweeper
Webroot Spy Sweeper quickly provides maximum protection with minimal interaction. Our fully updated user interface makes it easier than ever for users of all abilities to stay protected. With an easy-to-use console and customizable options, Webroot Spy Sweeper makes finding spyware easy. Extensive testing has shown that SpySweeper is one of the most comprehensive tools for locating and removing spyware from an infected system. It rarely fails to remove offending code and does a good job of avoiding tagging legitimate apps as malware. It’s a bit slower than Spyware Doctor, especially when running a full system scan, but since you can schedule scans to run when you’re not using your PC, this doesn’t have to be a problem.
Spyware Launcher
Spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and bookmarks are some of the fastest growing threats on the Internet today. Avoid installing spyware, adware, browser hijackers, bookmarks, and other ActiveX-based potentially unwanted software. Block spyware / tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla / Firefox. Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer. SpywareBlaster can help keep your system spyware-free and safe, without interfering with the “good side” of the web.
Spyware Blaster (like all other anti-spyware tools) works with definition files, so it’s worth constantly checking to see if yours are up to date. Spyware Blaster can effectively immunize your PC against many different types of attacks, making it a very strong competitor.
Spyware Terminator
Free 100% real-time protection is included in the basic version of Spyware Terminator, an essential feature for which most applications charge you extra. Efficiently remove spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, homepage hijackers, and other malicious software threats. All the options offered by the program are freely accessible in the free version, which gives you all the benefits of commercial software. Spyware Terminator offers everything you could want from an anti-spyware tool – it’s polished and feature-packed. All in all, a very impressive piece of free software.
Search and destroy Spybot
Along with Ad-Aware, Spybot is one of the more established tools available. The most prominent feature of spybots are the functions they offer to prevent spyware from infecting your PC. Click on the immunization function and you can protect your system against known malware domains. These features are passive and do not require any software to run in the background.
Spybot is free; highly configurable; Automatic Updates; built-in tutorial, but five known spyware applications were not detected in our tests and we received no email response from their technical support team. Spybot is free and adaptable for both novice and advanced users, but it left behind several well-known spyware applications.
Ad-Aware 2007 Free
Ad-Aware has been helping PC users remove malicious software for many years and has been a long-time favorite of bears. The free version of 2007 updates the program with a more user-friendly interface and, more importantly, an improved analysis engine. Lavasoft claims that the redesigned engine is now more accurate and better able to detect evasive threats, such as rootkits. A full scan takes a long time, but again, you could run it at times when you are not using your machine. If you want to keep your Vista PC free of spyware, you will have to look elsewhere at least for now.
Spyware Doctor PC Tools
Spyware Doctor has been downloaded more than 100 million times; with a million more downloads every week. Spyware Doctor is used by millions of people around the world to protect their identity and the security of their PC. Spyware Doctor has consistently been awarded the Editors’ Choice award by leading PC magazines and test labs around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, and Australia. All current versions of Spyware Doctor have won PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice Awards in the United States. Additionally, after leading the market in 2005, Spyware Doctor received the prestigious Best of the Year award in late 2005.
Spyware Doctor continues to receive top honors from many of the world’s leading PC publications including PC Pro, PC Plus, PC Authority, PC Utilities, PC Advisor, PC Choice, Microdatorn, PC Answers Magazine, plus a number of recognized 5-star ratings. including CNET’s Download.com and Tucows. Of all the other apps we reviewed, Spyware Doctor consistently outperforms the competition in terms of its scanning engine, successfully identifying and removing more threats than any other tool. It’s also very accurate, so you shouldn’t have a problem with legitimate tools misidentified as harmful. This is software that all broadband internet users should have on their PC.