What is the Best Anti-Spyware Software?
Malware today is complex, and Windows users have had enough. More and more of you are fighting back by learning how to protect yourselves. You take advice from people like Kat, who have years of experience in combating these problems. What programs do you use for protection?
ZoneAlarm Internet Suite does an all-in-one job for me. :-) - Kol Tregaskes
MACs - Mona N.
your brain coupled with education. mona: OSX does have malware, tho requires more social engineering to get them working as a general rule. If you’re packing windows and want to clear off anything you think might have gotten on, Malware Bytes is a good little app without bloat of craptastic apps that have more "brand recognition". - alphaxion
Common sense? - Tad the meme maker
Microsoft Defender/AVG Free/Avast/Adaware/ZoneAlarm free/whatever free malware/security apps you prefer. Oh and having a good email provider that scans your mail for malware before it’s even in your inbox will get rid of a lot of your risk. Using a modern browser will also reduce your risk greatly. Beyond that, understanding how to safely use a PC is the best defense. - Alex Scoble CISSP
I second Mona. Use Mac - Leandro Ardissone
Avast - Stagekid
Not to be glib, but why do Windows users put up with this? What if your toilet violently geysered raw sewage one out of every six flushes? Wouldn’t you start to seriously look into an alternative instead of buying a bigger mop? - stretta
Your toilet doesn’t have people constantly trying to do whatever they can to clog it up. But yeah, in cases where you have to deal with that you hire a plumber on contract and get an industrial toilet. True story, my brother Ben had to do just that for his bar because people would invariably plug up the toilets every weekend. He has a plumber come in every Monday to snake them out. - Alex Scoble CISSP
none - adolfo foronda
And if you think being on OS X or Linux protects you from any of this stuff, think again. There are plenty of people on this planet who could totally pwn your OS X or Linux box if they so chose. - Alex Scoble CISSP
When they had that contest a year ago or so, wasn’t the OS X machine the first to be hacked? Anyway, ESET Smart Security or whatever it’s called. NOD32 + spyware + firewall. Unbeatable. - Akiva Moskovitz
If they target you. You’re still a lot safer than on Windows. - Tanath
akiva: that was the pwn to own competition.. and just to clarify, yes it was the apple to be owned first followed by the windows mahcine the next day to the same app.. cause the kernels of osx, windows and linux are so tight noone bothered until they opened it up to 3rd party apps and flash took it in the neck on both systems. - alphaxion
I don’t think there is a single best. None will catch everything, so you need to use your brain. But a combination of apps can catch most things. - Tanath
Sorry, Tanath, but for the average user that’s simply not true. - Alex Scoble CISSP
I use Avast. - Molly, the Vampy Vampire
I just surf the net with a machine that has no consequence, so I can nuke it and start over anytime. - Brian Norwood
cool - Loic Le Meur
vigilance, obscurity, anonymity + good ole Mac ;) - ~C4Chaos
of course, if you want the ultimate in security, run a virtual machine with undo disks enabled. finished browsing? hit the x and ditch any changes :) - alphaxion
Mac OSX - Gerard van Schip
I guess maybe it’s time to rethink my OSX makes me safe plan of action. - dee Harvey
What do you use? Are you happy with it? Have you ever been the victim of a Malware infection?
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18 Comments
Hawk12online
October 28th, 2008
at 5:40am
Personally I use AVG Free; I’ve never had a problem or any infection with it.
Does the job for me :)
toddlorensinclair
October 28th, 2008
at 5:45am
It just works …http://www.malwarebytes.org/
system001
October 28th, 2008
at 6:23am
winpatrol to monitor and ask me if i want something to start with windows. zonealarm for the firewall, antivirus, and spyware. counterspy to monitor installs and ask me if i want to allow an item to be installed and its spyware remover. lastly ca internet security suite for its spyware remover and spam filter.
David Nolan
October 28th, 2008
at 7:41am
The answer is plain and simple for me.. Spybot: Search and Destroy.
I’ll tell you why:
- Free as in beer, full-featured
- Subscriptionless
- Configurable for system start or program start: auto-update (with automatically selected mirror), auto-scan (whole system, certain types of spyware, certain directories…) and autoimmunize (browser object blacklist, etc.. IE and/or FF). Also has inbuilt task schedule for scanner tasks and updater tasks.
- Realtime registry protection with process white/blacklisting and optional IE resident protection (IE users need all the help they can get).
- Inbuilt registry cleaner (System Internals, similar to the free RegCleaner util).
- Simple or advanced mode interfaces.
- Localization (available in over 50 languages at last count, high-contrast mode for vision-impaired users).
- Spyware whitelist (as if you would use such a thing anyway, but just in case you legitimately use a piece of software marked as spyware, it can be excluded from scanning/removal).
- Directory, cookie, file extension, registry cleaner whitelists.
- Winsock LSP, startup and uninstall info (startup similar to msconfig, uninstall a more complete version of Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features).
- Report generation incl. bug reports, error and scan logs; spyware backup similar to virus quarantine.
- Skinnable.
Look, I could continue, but it’d be a waste of your time and my finger muscles. Head on over to http://www.safer-networking.net or http://www.safer-networking.org for more information. Feel free to ask me any questions about running Spybot.
Stephen Jared
October 28th, 2008
at 8:21am
Spyware Doctor, Avira, Zone Alarm free, Spybot, Spyware Blaster, add 10000 to your contacts list prevents most Trojans (Thank you Chris), System Safe Gold for system file integrity. SD makes Windows Defender unnecessary, AntiSpy XP for safe settings and clearing the swap file. Index.dat Suite takes out what others miss.
I use EZ cleaner (beta) for cleaning the registry. This is no longer around so I value my old copy. No Flash, no WMP online. Update with Secunia, the Software Patch and File Hippo. Works for XP Pro.
OSX naked.
The Tainted Vista - Geeks!
October 28th, 2008
at 8:27am
[...] What is the Best Anti-Spyware Software? [...]
Daan Berg
October 28th, 2008
at 11:23am
Avast for me!
Mac users make me chuckle
October 28th, 2008
at 12:01pm
[...] I always get a kick out of reading posts like the one I read today from Chris Pirillo where he dived into his FriendFeed fanbase to find out their thoughts on things like their [...]
chad
October 28th, 2008
at 8:53pm
avg free works for me
Mike Trimm
October 28th, 2008
at 10:20pm
I’ve always been a fan of Spybot S&D
HOWEVER, Malwarebytes has proven useful in removing crud from a customer’s computer, and I thoroughly enjoyed hitting start and sitting back :-)
ROsario
October 29th, 2008
at 2:49am
Have you been searching for a great antispyware to keep your computer running like new? If so, you will be happy to know that there are some great options out there. I have tried many different types of antispyware only to find that the majority of them find the exact same types of bugs. The biggest difference that you will find between all the different types of antispyware offered is the price. Search-and-destroy is an excellent choice that can be purchased at a lower price than many of the other options available. If you are interested in discovering the benefits offered from antispyware solution from search-and-destroy visit search-and-destroy to learn more.
John Edwards
October 29th, 2008
at 6:52am
MAC users are funny. I have an announcement for them.. MACS CAN GET SPYWARE! It’s not an OS problem. Geez.
Ash
October 29th, 2008
at 12:04pm
I also use Free AVG. I have been using AVG as a malware and spyware removal tool for many years with excellent results. AVG is great about updating their virus definitions regularly. I’ve heard some good things about Avast, but have never tried it myself.
bLaugh
October 29th, 2008
at 8:55pm
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ID on Desktop Customization
October 29th, 2008
at 10:01pm
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Edy
October 31st, 2008
at 7:32pm
Purchase it for a lower price.
Have you ever tried Search-and-destroy? If you answered no, then you should give it a try. Over the years I have used many different types of antispyware and this is one of the best that I have ever tried. I was surprised and delighted to find that I could purchase it for a lower price than I could buy Norton and other similar scans that produce the same results. That makes it even better. Antispyware solution from Search-and-destroy can find the same kinds of bugs as these more expensive programs and is easy to get. Just click here search-and-destroy and you can see how well it really works for yourself.
Jonathan
December 1st, 2008
at 1:15pm
Hardware Firewall, AVG Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware, Spybot, plus keeping an eye on things and watching what I do and where I go online.
It isn’t a matter of what OS you’re using, it’s a matter of paying attention to what’s going on in your system. ALL operating systems can be hacked, cracked, bugged, plugged, etc. No one is really better than another (except in user’s dreams.) If someone wants in your machine badly enough, there’s a way to do it. Just keep your data backed up and your OS/Apps disks handy for a reload should that be necessary.
SOIKIEEEEEEEEEEEE
May 16th, 2009
at 12:23am
I read that Spyware Doctor & CounterSpy are the better along with free Vista;s Windows Defender.
ANTI-Virus i heard Tred Micro AntiVirus, Eset NOD32, KASpersky AntiVirus, & AVG Pro.
For SOFtware Firewall protecting i heard, OUTPOST Firewall Pro/Security Suite, Zone Alarm,….