Spyware
What's the best spyware removal program?
There are lots of different anti-spyware programs available. Some are free and some are not; all the best ones at least have a fully functional free trial that you can download.
Be very careful when choosing your spyware removal program, though, as some work very poorly and others even contain spyware themselves! Only use anti-spyware programs that come highly recommended by major reviewers, such as PC Magazine, PC World, etc.
Read about what spyware removal programs do and how to use them safely here.
My top recommendation is the PC Magazine Editor's Choice, Webroot's SpySweeper. I recommend commercial software such as this because it is generally easier to use for the average person and has software support, which most free programs cannot offer. The free trial is fully functional, but only lets you download spyware definitions once.
If you want a free option, I have heard many good things about Microsoft's free Anti-Spyware program, which is still in beta.
Download Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta
FYI: MS, of course, will want to make sure your copy of windows is "genuine" before you can download this (although there is a way to circumvent the genuine certification process). The program also won't install on Win95 or 98/98SE.
I used MS AntiSpyware on a Windows 2000 machine and I was pleased with the results; it is extremely user-friendly and schedules itself to auto-update and run nightly to detect spyware. The only real issue I had with it was, if you have your homepage set to anything besides MSN, it insists that your browser has been hijacked. You can set it to ignore this, but it's still very annoying.
Although we are not affiliated with Spybot S&D or its makers, PepiMK Software, we have recommended it to people in the past.
I have used Spybot S&D myself and agree that it does get rid of many spyware threats (although, according to many sources, it has fallen behind its commercial counterparts in effectiveness during the past year or so). It is a powerful program, but I think it is best suited to advanced users. As several of our readers who have written in can attest, you can allow Spybot S&D to delete important system files or cause other issues with your computer if you don't know what you are doing (I thought I knew what I was doing, and I still almost had to reformat my hard drive after using Spybot S&D for the first time).
You can find out more about Spybot S&D and/or download it at:
http://security.kolla.de
Many people choose to pair Spybot S&D with another free spyware removal program, AdAware, which can be downloaded at:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com
These spyware removers update at different times and sometimes one will remove a new spyware threat before the other one can. Using both of these programs together will provide pretty decent protection against spyware.
For more reviews, you can also check out the PCSecurityNews.com Reviews section, which offers links to several reviews from expert sources.
A new choice for those of you shopping for anti-spyware programs are new anti-virus scanners that include spyware scanning (most of the major anti-virus software companies have included this feature in their latest update). From what I've heard so far, the anti-virus makers are behind the curve in spyware removal at the present time... so for now, get a seperate anti-spyware solution to make sure you're protected!
Last update: 2005-06-24 14:49
Author: Jordana
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