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Best Free Anti-Spyware?
- Thread starter alley
- Start date
Whatever one you go for get this too :wink2:
http://www.malwarebytes.org
Might actually be all you need
It's a scanner and cleaner but won't stay resident, although you can get a paid upgrade to do that.
http://www.malwarebytes.org
Might actually be all you need
It's a scanner and cleaner but won't stay resident, although you can get a paid upgrade to do that.
Thanks Decker ...what do you guys think about this one? ..got some good reviews on snapfiles.
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html
I swear by Spyware Blaster (www.javacoolsoftware.com). It runs only once and prevents spyware from being installed on your computer.
Of course if you are already infected it will only do limited help, but if you run the updates on it every week or two and "enable all protection" you probably won't get infected unless you do some hardcore porn surfing or limewire/kazaa/other p2p crap a lot.
Of course if you are already infected it will only do limited help, but if you run the updates on it every week or two and "enable all protection" you probably won't get infected unless you do some hardcore porn surfing or limewire/kazaa/other p2p crap a lot.
YourData1st
New Member
I'm going to give that javacool and malwarebytes a try. I use ad-aware right now, but I'm always looking for something better
Im sure this will help you choose.
http://anti-spyware-review.toptenreviews.com/
http://anti-spyware-review.toptenreviews.com/
Not running 2 AV's at the same time I hope :wink2: that leads to all sorts of troubles.
One AV installed and use one of the online scanners regularly, most do them now and some with a built in mal/grey/spyware scanner.
I use www.spybot.info and www.avast.com
I completely agree with Decker.There is no need of two AV at same time,that would make very slooow the pc, and there is no need for that.
Try to spend some money in a good AV, like Kaspersky.Thats the best one.Its also have Personal Firewall.It doesnt use a lot of RAM. You can also add the Adware if you need it.And to keep clean your pc,yuo can try CCleaner,i use this one all time.
Hope that this helps you.
SyntheticChaos
New Member
http://lavasoft.com/
I have been using Ad-Aware for over a year and have had almost no problems. It works great for my 3 PCs I have in my home network.
I have been using Ad-Aware for over a year and have had almost no problems. It works great for my 3 PCs I have in my home network.
I agree. I had severe problems a few months ago and downloaded Ad-Aware 2007 and have had no issues since.
Here is some reading for you.
The anti-spyware market is both older and also less mature than the antispam market. The problem with the commercial market for anti-spyware products is that spyware is stealthy and quiet. So, when an anti-spyware pioneer like PestPatrol came out with a spyware-killing tool a few years back, most people said,So what? I dont have any spyware on my PC. The funny thing was that even back then, every time I ran anti-spyware tools on a supposedly clean PC, it came back with lots of nasty stuff. So, while anti-spam tools took the limelight, getting rid of much of the spam from your inbox, antispyware tools didnt really find much of a market until recently. Not only has the nature of spyware been changing and becoming more intrusive, but people are also becoming more aware of and concerned with online privacy issues.
Because I cant cover all the spyware products currently on the market, Ive chosen ten completely at random . . . well, not totally at random. Ive chosen some of the most popular anti-spyware products, some solutions that look like they have a bright future, and some products that Ive used myself.
Note that because the anti-spyware market is still pretty immature, some of the products that I mentioned are in a state of flux. For example, PestPatrol, which was developed as a standalone product, was recently purchased by Computer Associates International and incorporated into its eTrust suite of products. You can expect a lot more consolidation as the market matures and smaller players with innovative products are purchased by the big spam- and virus-blocking vendors that need to fill the spyware hole in their product lines.
Ad-Aware Professional SE
Lavasoft has been around since the mid-1990s, and the company focuses solely on anti-spyware products. While Lavasoft has a number of versions of the basic product, including a personal edition, the following table shows the features of the business-focused edition, Ad-Aware Professional.
Ad-Aware is an example of a product that has outgrown its name. Because nearly all early spyware was about stuffing advertising into your computer, forcing you to look at it, and tracking your surfing habits, some of the products show these origins in various ways, including their names. In the case of Ad-Aware, dont let the name fool you: Its a complete anti-spyware package with registry scanning, centralized configuration management via Windows file shares (all clients can see the central configuration file via a Windows file share), and automated background operation.
Maker Lavasoft
URL www.lavasoftusa.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client
Auto-update Yes
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
SpywareBlaster
SpywareBlaster takes a preventative approach to spyware, focused on spywares main entry point, your Web browser. When you load SpywareBlaster, it detects your Web browser(s) and gives you the option of protecting each browser from downloading and installing all the known spyware problems for the browser.
This product is strictly about preventing spyware from a very specific channel, your Web browser. It has no facilities for scanning your hard drive for stuff already downloaded and running and no facilities for removing spyware that is already on your system. If you prevent spyware from arriving in the first place, you dont need removal tools, right? There are so many delivery mechanisms for spyware these days that I cant see something that is strictly browser-and-prevention focused as a complete solution for any business, but it could easily be a part of a defensein- depth strategy that employs lots of tools and filters to keep spyware at bay.
Javacool Software has recently changed to a freeware-for-all policy with SpywareBlaster, charging only for automatic updates to the known spyware database (although manual updates continue to be free).
Maker Javacool Software LLC.
URL www.javacoolsoftware.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Local filter
Auto-update Yes (for a yearly fee)
Real-time detection Yes
Logging No persistent logs
Scheduled scanning None
SpyBot - Search & Destroy
SpyBot - Search & Destroy (you see it most often shortened to Spybot-S&D) is a great program that Ive been using for quite some time. Spybot-S&D is especially helpful when I need to check out a computer that I suspect is infected with spyware and I dont have a commercial anti-spyware package at hand, because Spybot-S&D is free and quick to download.
Spybot-S&D does the typical manual scan for spyware on your computers memory and hard drive, but it also includes some interesting features that allow you to automatically delete the most recently used lists from myriad places on your computer that keep track of what documents you have opened, what movies you have viewed, and what Web pages you have visited.
Spybot-S&D does have real-time spyware blocking, but its turned off by default and isnt easy to find. To find it, you must have the menu in advanced (expert) mode, and then you must choose Tools➪Resident. After its activated, it does work nicely and remembers block or dont-block decisions youve made so that it wont pester you every time you load the ActiveX controls that you know are safe.
An interesting and cautious feature of this product is that when you click the button to fix (mostly delete) what it has found, Spybot-S&D automatically creates a restore point when running on Windows XP before it makes changes. That way, if deleting anything it found creates a problem, you have a known restore point that you can get back to.
Maker Patrick M. Kolla / Safer Networking Limited
URL www.spybot.info
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client, some local filters
Auto-update Manual or on startup
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware
PestPatrol was one of the early commercial anti-spyware products, back when not very many people saw spyware as the threat that it is today. Computer Associates International has added the PestPatrol product to its eTrust suite of products, which also includes antivirus, firewall, vulnerability management, and intrusion detection products.
eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware is a mature product with features in the Corporate Edition that will be appreciated in medium to large enterprise environments, such as centralized deployment, logging, and management. Computer Associates Internationals considerable resources behind an already great product should produce a strong, long-term contender in this market.
Maker Computer Associates International, Inc.
URL http://ca.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client, local filters
Auto-update Manual or on startup
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
Norton AntiVirus
I include Norton AntiVirus from Symantec as an example of a product that stakes claims in both the antivirus and anti-spyware areas. Like many of the products that essentially new functionality, there are some problems with functionality and documentation for the new features. The Web page for Norton AntiVirus contains two sentences regarding spyware, both of which essentially say that Norton AntiVirus also prevents spyware, key loggers, and adware. In the users manual, the word spyware doest appear at all. Yeah.
From personal experience running Norton AntiVirus and a dedicated spyware checker on the same computer, I know that Norton AntiVirus will miss a number of things that most anti-spyware software will pick up.
So, why include Norton here at all? Because Im convinced that antivirus and anti-spyware products should be combined and given a new name (something like anti-malware or anti-bad-stuff), and I like the fact that Symantec has started down this path. To be fair, I have had this product catch spyware, and catch it earlier than any of the other products I have access to, so Im looking forward to whats next in the spyware part of this program.
Maker Symantec Corporation
URL www.symantec.com
Also a virus scanner Yes
Client or filter Client, local filters
Auto-update Manual, on startup and scheduled
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
McAfee Anti-Spyware Enterprise Edition Module
McAfee is a long-time leader in the antivirus space, but the company has been a little slow to recognize spyware as a significant threat and a potentially large additional market. This entry shows that McAfee wasnt just sitting around watching other companies gobble up market share, but was working on an anti-spyware module that integrates with its current strong suite of central management and reporting tools. McAfee Anti-Spyware Enterprise Edition Module is not an independent product, however, and it requires VirusScan Enterprise to be already installed on the target system.
This is quite a different approach from what Norton is doing, because McAfee is providing a separate spyware-focused product with integration into its virus-scanning product line. Although either approach seems valid, I think that eventually the lines between viruses and spyware will blur, and most folks will be looking for a single product to make it all go away.
McAfee includes protection against PUPs in its anti-spyware, so you can feel safe from hordes of cute little furry canines running amok on your computer. Actually, McAfee defines PUPs as Potentially Unwanted Programs. These are programs that might have some sort of beneficial purpose, like indexing your browser cache for quick searches, but also have an adverse effect on the security of your computer or your privacy. Many users install these programs on purpose because their negative effects are seriously downplayed or hidden.
On the downside, Anti-Spyware Enterprise Edition Module is not an independent program and requires that VirusScan Enterprise be installed first. If youre operating in a McAfee shop already, thats not really a problem, and youwill benefit from the integration of the two products.
Maker McAfee, Inc. (formerly Network Associates Technology, Inc.)
URL www.mcafee.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client, local filters
Auto-update Manual, on startup and scheduled
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes, centralized
Scheduled scanning Yes
Panda Platinum Internet Security
Panda Software has taken the idea of putting antivirus and anti-spyware in the same package and taken it to its (somewhat) logical conclusion. The name says Internet Security, and Panda Software included everything it could think of for the security of your workstation (except perhaps explosive bolts on the network adaptor or the nuclear fusion 10,000-year backup power supply, but nobody but my friend Ray has those).
In this single package, Panda Software includes a firewall and filters for viruses, spyware, phishing, and Web content. Although thats a pretty big load for any one product, Victorinox has done well with the Swiss Army knife, so maybe this all-in-one product will catch on, too. The convenience of only managing one product is certainly a plus, and tight integration between all the security products on a system means that the content filter can start blocking a site that you just received spyware from.
Maker Panda Software
URL www.pandasoftware.com
Also a virus scanner Yes (also a firewall with spam and phishing filter)
Client or filter Client, local filters
Auto-update Manual, on startup and scheduled
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
SpyHunter
SpyHunter by Enigma Software Group claims to be the fastest scanner on the market, though I havent been hearing people complain that their spyware scanners are too slow. SpyHunter comes with a popup blocker to get rid of annoying popup ads when browsing, and it has rollback capabilities so that you can undo any previously deleted spyware. (In case you made a mistake, and it wasnt really spyware.)
According to the advertisements, the user interface was designed to be as simple as a Fisher-Price toy.Im not sure what that means, but Im hoping that I dont have to insert a bunch of blocks into their respective holes before the timer runs out and the spyware runs rampant on my PC.
Maker Enigma Software Group, Inc.
URL www.enigmasoftwaregroup.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client
Auto-update Manual, on startup and scheduled
Real-time detection Yes
Logging None
Scheduled scanning On boot
Yahoo! Anti-Spy Toolbar
Yahoo! is now offering an anti-spyware toolbar for Microsoft Internet Explorer. This seems to be the very beginning of the toolbar wars, with Google and Yahoo! just starting to duke it out to see which one can provide the most attractive additional browser functionality and drive more searches its way.
The actual anti-spyware engine offered on the Yahoo! Anti-Spy Toolbar is the
same one that PestPatrol from Computer Associates International uses. But the delivery mechanism is unique enough that I thought it was worth mentioning.
Browser toolbars are nothing new. In fact, some of the spyware out there passes itself off as a helpful toolbar doing something that you might want, like posting your search to multiple search engines and sorting out the duplicates. In reality, these toolbars are also snooping where you go on the Internet and what you search for and sending all that information off to their masters.
The Yahoo! Toolbar is just what it says it is, a simple toolbar with a spyware checker embedded in it. While Yahoo! is so nicely helping you out with your spyware problem, its also providing one-click access to the Yahoo! search engine and various other Yahoo! sites, such as e-mail, games, and shopping. I dont think Im going too far out on a limb when I say you should expect to see similar anti-spyware offerings from other major search site players, such as MSN and Google.
Still, I cant help but wonder if Yahoo! Toolbar will block its own advertisers spyware (or at least what other, neutral, programs you would call spyware). This seems like kind of a fox-and-henhouse situation to me.
Maker Yahoo! Inc.
URL http://toolbar.yahoo.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client
Auto-update Manual
Real-time detection No
Logging None
Scheduled scanning No
Price Free
Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware
In December 2004, Microsoft purchased Giant Company Software, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Giant produced three products: Spam Inspector, Popup Inspector, and Giant Antispyware, but Microsofts interest seems to be almost entirely in the anti-spyware technology. In January 2005, Microsoft made a beta version of the Microsoft-branded Giant product available for download.
So why look at this as one of the top ten spyware-filtering solutions? Based on the fact that Microsoft will be making this available in all its upcoming operating systems, the technology in Giant will quickly become some of the most widely used anti-spyware technologies out there. What I do here is talk a little about what Microsoft has provided in the beta release and what it is likely to provide in the future, according to its grand plan to save us all found at www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/strategy.mspx.
Heres a quick look at the features (or lack thereof) the Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware product currently offers:
An anti-spyware tool: This tool scans your hard drive and memory for known spyware and helps you delete the spyware it finds. It also includes prevention technology that watches 59 checkpoints for spyware trying to install itself to keep your computer from getting infested in the first place.
Spynet: This is a 100,000-member community whose members report new spyware as they find it, adding to the list of detectable badness. Spynet is included in the beta product, and according to Microsoft’s roadmap, it plans to maintain Spynet in some form.
No form of central management: It would be surprising if Microsoft doesnt add this in the near future. Microsoft understands the need for central management of security infrastructure, and I definitely expect to see enterprise-friendly changes to the Giant product in the near term.
Based on Microsofts strategy document, it plans to combat spyware using a combination of technology, consumer guidance and education, industry collaboration, legislation, and law enforcement. Each of these areas is important to start turning the tide on this threat, but the following list focuses on technology you might expect in the future from this product:
The same or similar monitoring software: The product will continue to use software agents that monitor Internet, system, and application settings for unauthorized attempts to make changes.
Extend the product to provide more system explorers, which allow users to see exactly what is running in the system and choose to eliminate stuff they dont want: System explorers are intended for experts who can examine a detailed list of software and files and make informed decisions about what should and shouldnt be on the system.
Complete user control over what is loaded and starts running on the Windows operating system: This is more of a long-term strategy, and the Giant Company Software acquisition is a move in that direction for Microsoft. I think its critical to mention this here because whatever Microsoft chooses to bundle for free will have a major impact on all the other commercial offerings.
Maker Microsoft Corporation
URL www.giantcompany.com and www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/default.mspx
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client with local filters
Auto-update Automatic
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
Price Unclear at this time, maybe free?
This info found on this page:
http://www.techduke.com/2007/06/20/ten-best-spyware-filtering-softwares-for-individuals-businesses/
The anti-spyware market is both older and also less mature than the antispam market. The problem with the commercial market for anti-spyware products is that spyware is stealthy and quiet. So, when an anti-spyware pioneer like PestPatrol came out with a spyware-killing tool a few years back, most people said,So what? I dont have any spyware on my PC. The funny thing was that even back then, every time I ran anti-spyware tools on a supposedly clean PC, it came back with lots of nasty stuff. So, while anti-spam tools took the limelight, getting rid of much of the spam from your inbox, antispyware tools didnt really find much of a market until recently. Not only has the nature of spyware been changing and becoming more intrusive, but people are also becoming more aware of and concerned with online privacy issues.
Because I cant cover all the spyware products currently on the market, Ive chosen ten completely at random . . . well, not totally at random. Ive chosen some of the most popular anti-spyware products, some solutions that look like they have a bright future, and some products that Ive used myself.
Note that because the anti-spyware market is still pretty immature, some of the products that I mentioned are in a state of flux. For example, PestPatrol, which was developed as a standalone product, was recently purchased by Computer Associates International and incorporated into its eTrust suite of products. You can expect a lot more consolidation as the market matures and smaller players with innovative products are purchased by the big spam- and virus-blocking vendors that need to fill the spyware hole in their product lines.
Ad-Aware Professional SE
Lavasoft has been around since the mid-1990s, and the company focuses solely on anti-spyware products. While Lavasoft has a number of versions of the basic product, including a personal edition, the following table shows the features of the business-focused edition, Ad-Aware Professional.
Ad-Aware is an example of a product that has outgrown its name. Because nearly all early spyware was about stuffing advertising into your computer, forcing you to look at it, and tracking your surfing habits, some of the products show these origins in various ways, including their names. In the case of Ad-Aware, dont let the name fool you: Its a complete anti-spyware package with registry scanning, centralized configuration management via Windows file shares (all clients can see the central configuration file via a Windows file share), and automated background operation.
Maker Lavasoft
URL www.lavasoftusa.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client
Auto-update Yes
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
SpywareBlaster
SpywareBlaster takes a preventative approach to spyware, focused on spywares main entry point, your Web browser. When you load SpywareBlaster, it detects your Web browser(s) and gives you the option of protecting each browser from downloading and installing all the known spyware problems for the browser.
This product is strictly about preventing spyware from a very specific channel, your Web browser. It has no facilities for scanning your hard drive for stuff already downloaded and running and no facilities for removing spyware that is already on your system. If you prevent spyware from arriving in the first place, you dont need removal tools, right? There are so many delivery mechanisms for spyware these days that I cant see something that is strictly browser-and-prevention focused as a complete solution for any business, but it could easily be a part of a defensein- depth strategy that employs lots of tools and filters to keep spyware at bay.
Javacool Software has recently changed to a freeware-for-all policy with SpywareBlaster, charging only for automatic updates to the known spyware database (although manual updates continue to be free).
Maker Javacool Software LLC.
URL www.javacoolsoftware.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Local filter
Auto-update Yes (for a yearly fee)
Real-time detection Yes
Logging No persistent logs
Scheduled scanning None
SpyBot - Search & Destroy
SpyBot - Search & Destroy (you see it most often shortened to Spybot-S&D) is a great program that Ive been using for quite some time. Spybot-S&D is especially helpful when I need to check out a computer that I suspect is infected with spyware and I dont have a commercial anti-spyware package at hand, because Spybot-S&D is free and quick to download.
Spybot-S&D does the typical manual scan for spyware on your computers memory and hard drive, but it also includes some interesting features that allow you to automatically delete the most recently used lists from myriad places on your computer that keep track of what documents you have opened, what movies you have viewed, and what Web pages you have visited.
Spybot-S&D does have real-time spyware blocking, but its turned off by default and isnt easy to find. To find it, you must have the menu in advanced (expert) mode, and then you must choose Tools➪Resident. After its activated, it does work nicely and remembers block or dont-block decisions youve made so that it wont pester you every time you load the ActiveX controls that you know are safe.
An interesting and cautious feature of this product is that when you click the button to fix (mostly delete) what it has found, Spybot-S&D automatically creates a restore point when running on Windows XP before it makes changes. That way, if deleting anything it found creates a problem, you have a known restore point that you can get back to.
Maker Patrick M. Kolla / Safer Networking Limited
URL www.spybot.info
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client, some local filters
Auto-update Manual or on startup
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware
PestPatrol was one of the early commercial anti-spyware products, back when not very many people saw spyware as the threat that it is today. Computer Associates International has added the PestPatrol product to its eTrust suite of products, which also includes antivirus, firewall, vulnerability management, and intrusion detection products.
eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware is a mature product with features in the Corporate Edition that will be appreciated in medium to large enterprise environments, such as centralized deployment, logging, and management. Computer Associates Internationals considerable resources behind an already great product should produce a strong, long-term contender in this market.
Maker Computer Associates International, Inc.
URL http://ca.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client, local filters
Auto-update Manual or on startup
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
Norton AntiVirus
I include Norton AntiVirus from Symantec as an example of a product that stakes claims in both the antivirus and anti-spyware areas. Like many of the products that essentially new functionality, there are some problems with functionality and documentation for the new features. The Web page for Norton AntiVirus contains two sentences regarding spyware, both of which essentially say that Norton AntiVirus also prevents spyware, key loggers, and adware. In the users manual, the word spyware doest appear at all. Yeah.
From personal experience running Norton AntiVirus and a dedicated spyware checker on the same computer, I know that Norton AntiVirus will miss a number of things that most anti-spyware software will pick up.
So, why include Norton here at all? Because Im convinced that antivirus and anti-spyware products should be combined and given a new name (something like anti-malware or anti-bad-stuff), and I like the fact that Symantec has started down this path. To be fair, I have had this product catch spyware, and catch it earlier than any of the other products I have access to, so Im looking forward to whats next in the spyware part of this program.
Maker Symantec Corporation
URL www.symantec.com
Also a virus scanner Yes
Client or filter Client, local filters
Auto-update Manual, on startup and scheduled
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
McAfee Anti-Spyware Enterprise Edition Module
McAfee is a long-time leader in the antivirus space, but the company has been a little slow to recognize spyware as a significant threat and a potentially large additional market. This entry shows that McAfee wasnt just sitting around watching other companies gobble up market share, but was working on an anti-spyware module that integrates with its current strong suite of central management and reporting tools. McAfee Anti-Spyware Enterprise Edition Module is not an independent product, however, and it requires VirusScan Enterprise to be already installed on the target system.
This is quite a different approach from what Norton is doing, because McAfee is providing a separate spyware-focused product with integration into its virus-scanning product line. Although either approach seems valid, I think that eventually the lines between viruses and spyware will blur, and most folks will be looking for a single product to make it all go away.
McAfee includes protection against PUPs in its anti-spyware, so you can feel safe from hordes of cute little furry canines running amok on your computer. Actually, McAfee defines PUPs as Potentially Unwanted Programs. These are programs that might have some sort of beneficial purpose, like indexing your browser cache for quick searches, but also have an adverse effect on the security of your computer or your privacy. Many users install these programs on purpose because their negative effects are seriously downplayed or hidden.
On the downside, Anti-Spyware Enterprise Edition Module is not an independent program and requires that VirusScan Enterprise be installed first. If youre operating in a McAfee shop already, thats not really a problem, and youwill benefit from the integration of the two products.
Maker McAfee, Inc. (formerly Network Associates Technology, Inc.)
URL www.mcafee.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client, local filters
Auto-update Manual, on startup and scheduled
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes, centralized
Scheduled scanning Yes
Panda Platinum Internet Security
Panda Software has taken the idea of putting antivirus and anti-spyware in the same package and taken it to its (somewhat) logical conclusion. The name says Internet Security, and Panda Software included everything it could think of for the security of your workstation (except perhaps explosive bolts on the network adaptor or the nuclear fusion 10,000-year backup power supply, but nobody but my friend Ray has those).
In this single package, Panda Software includes a firewall and filters for viruses, spyware, phishing, and Web content. Although thats a pretty big load for any one product, Victorinox has done well with the Swiss Army knife, so maybe this all-in-one product will catch on, too. The convenience of only managing one product is certainly a plus, and tight integration between all the security products on a system means that the content filter can start blocking a site that you just received spyware from.
Maker Panda Software
URL www.pandasoftware.com
Also a virus scanner Yes (also a firewall with spam and phishing filter)
Client or filter Client, local filters
Auto-update Manual, on startup and scheduled
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
SpyHunter
SpyHunter by Enigma Software Group claims to be the fastest scanner on the market, though I havent been hearing people complain that their spyware scanners are too slow. SpyHunter comes with a popup blocker to get rid of annoying popup ads when browsing, and it has rollback capabilities so that you can undo any previously deleted spyware. (In case you made a mistake, and it wasnt really spyware.)
According to the advertisements, the user interface was designed to be as simple as a Fisher-Price toy.Im not sure what that means, but Im hoping that I dont have to insert a bunch of blocks into their respective holes before the timer runs out and the spyware runs rampant on my PC.
Maker Enigma Software Group, Inc.
URL www.enigmasoftwaregroup.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client
Auto-update Manual, on startup and scheduled
Real-time detection Yes
Logging None
Scheduled scanning On boot
Yahoo! Anti-Spy Toolbar
Yahoo! is now offering an anti-spyware toolbar for Microsoft Internet Explorer. This seems to be the very beginning of the toolbar wars, with Google and Yahoo! just starting to duke it out to see which one can provide the most attractive additional browser functionality and drive more searches its way.
The actual anti-spyware engine offered on the Yahoo! Anti-Spy Toolbar is the
same one that PestPatrol from Computer Associates International uses. But the delivery mechanism is unique enough that I thought it was worth mentioning.
Browser toolbars are nothing new. In fact, some of the spyware out there passes itself off as a helpful toolbar doing something that you might want, like posting your search to multiple search engines and sorting out the duplicates. In reality, these toolbars are also snooping where you go on the Internet and what you search for and sending all that information off to their masters.
The Yahoo! Toolbar is just what it says it is, a simple toolbar with a spyware checker embedded in it. While Yahoo! is so nicely helping you out with your spyware problem, its also providing one-click access to the Yahoo! search engine and various other Yahoo! sites, such as e-mail, games, and shopping. I dont think Im going too far out on a limb when I say you should expect to see similar anti-spyware offerings from other major search site players, such as MSN and Google.
Still, I cant help but wonder if Yahoo! Toolbar will block its own advertisers spyware (or at least what other, neutral, programs you would call spyware). This seems like kind of a fox-and-henhouse situation to me.
Maker Yahoo! Inc.
URL http://toolbar.yahoo.com
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client
Auto-update Manual
Real-time detection No
Logging None
Scheduled scanning No
Price Free
Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware
In December 2004, Microsoft purchased Giant Company Software, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Giant produced three products: Spam Inspector, Popup Inspector, and Giant Antispyware, but Microsofts interest seems to be almost entirely in the anti-spyware technology. In January 2005, Microsoft made a beta version of the Microsoft-branded Giant product available for download.
So why look at this as one of the top ten spyware-filtering solutions? Based on the fact that Microsoft will be making this available in all its upcoming operating systems, the technology in Giant will quickly become some of the most widely used anti-spyware technologies out there. What I do here is talk a little about what Microsoft has provided in the beta release and what it is likely to provide in the future, according to its grand plan to save us all found at www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/strategy.mspx.
Heres a quick look at the features (or lack thereof) the Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware product currently offers:
An anti-spyware tool: This tool scans your hard drive and memory for known spyware and helps you delete the spyware it finds. It also includes prevention technology that watches 59 checkpoints for spyware trying to install itself to keep your computer from getting infested in the first place.
Spynet: This is a 100,000-member community whose members report new spyware as they find it, adding to the list of detectable badness. Spynet is included in the beta product, and according to Microsoft’s roadmap, it plans to maintain Spynet in some form.
No form of central management: It would be surprising if Microsoft doesnt add this in the near future. Microsoft understands the need for central management of security infrastructure, and I definitely expect to see enterprise-friendly changes to the Giant product in the near term.
Based on Microsofts strategy document, it plans to combat spyware using a combination of technology, consumer guidance and education, industry collaboration, legislation, and law enforcement. Each of these areas is important to start turning the tide on this threat, but the following list focuses on technology you might expect in the future from this product:
The same or similar monitoring software: The product will continue to use software agents that monitor Internet, system, and application settings for unauthorized attempts to make changes.
Extend the product to provide more system explorers, which allow users to see exactly what is running in the system and choose to eliminate stuff they dont want: System explorers are intended for experts who can examine a detailed list of software and files and make informed decisions about what should and shouldnt be on the system.
Complete user control over what is loaded and starts running on the Windows operating system: This is more of a long-term strategy, and the Giant Company Software acquisition is a move in that direction for Microsoft. I think its critical to mention this here because whatever Microsoft chooses to bundle for free will have a major impact on all the other commercial offerings.
Maker Microsoft Corporation
URL www.giantcompany.com and www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/default.mspx
Also a virus scanner No
Client or filter Client with local filters
Auto-update Automatic
Real-time detection Yes
Logging Yes
Scheduled scanning Yes
Price Unclear at this time, maybe free?
This info found on this page:
http://www.techduke.com/2007/06/20/ten-best-spyware-filtering-softwares-for-individuals-businesses/
As an ex computer tech that spent way too much time dealing with this stuff, I have used just about every app out there worth two shakes. Over the years seen some become great and others become ----.
The best, right now at least, in my opinion is Spyware Doctor. Of course, nothing is going to find anything, but as far as finding plenty and able to actually remove it, I think Spyware Dr from PcTools.com is the best.
Kaspersky's suite of software is great too.
eWido (now AVG AntiSpy) isn't bad either. Finds a lot and is able to remove it.
Spysweeper (webroot.com) has always been a favorite, but has become a little bloaty.
PestPatrol was total crap in my opinion.
Ad-Aware is good, but finds a small percentage of others. But its free, so add it to your arsenal.
Spybot is same as ad-aware but finds a little bit more and seems to have a good removal rate. Again though, its not a catch-all.
My tip would be this combination:
Kaspersky antivirus/antispyware as your resident scanner
Spyware Dr with its realtime scanning OFF, but use it for scanning (you can this this without the realtime scanning FREE from Google Pack)
Ad-Aware free
Spybot free
JavaCool Spyware and run it every few months with all the new updates.
Overkill? Yes.
Now you ask. What do I run? On my Winxp computer->nothing
The best, right now at least, in my opinion is Spyware Doctor. Of course, nothing is going to find anything, but as far as finding plenty and able to actually remove it, I think Spyware Dr from PcTools.com is the best.
Kaspersky's suite of software is great too.
eWido (now AVG AntiSpy) isn't bad either. Finds a lot and is able to remove it.
Spysweeper (webroot.com) has always been a favorite, but has become a little bloaty.
PestPatrol was total crap in my opinion.
Ad-Aware is good, but finds a small percentage of others. But its free, so add it to your arsenal.
Spybot is same as ad-aware but finds a little bit more and seems to have a good removal rate. Again though, its not a catch-all.
My tip would be this combination:
Kaspersky antivirus/antispyware as your resident scanner
Spyware Dr with its realtime scanning OFF, but use it for scanning (you can this this without the realtime scanning FREE from Google Pack)
Ad-Aware free
Spybot free
JavaCool Spyware and run it every few months with all the new updates.
Overkill? Yes.
Now you ask. What do I run? On my Winxp computer->nothing
