Anti-spyware?

Question

I'm looking for the best free anti-spyware right now I'm using spybot search&destroy and it seems to be taking up to many resourses is there any better ones out there?

Answer 1

PCTools products do get good reviews. The good thing is they have free versions of their products. They work great. Spyware Doctor from the Google pack is a must. I highly recommend it. I bought Webroots Spysweeper and spyware doctor finds stuff spysweeper does not. Having both is a perfect combo and I recommend running two anti-spyware products.

PCTools Anti-Virus
http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/

PCTools Threatfire - Malware Protection
This free tool makes your current anti-virus better. Definite Download
http://www.threatfire.com

PCTools Firewall Plus
http://www.pctools.com/firewall/

The Google Pack includes a free starter edition of Spyware Doctor.
http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer_new.html?hl=en&gl=us&ai=BZy9nzYgZR_j2KofKmwTgjq3mAezuhSGAyqSDAsWNtwEAEAEgw9-LBTgBUIfas8sEYMnG5YbIo-gZoAGWl5z9A7IBDmZvcmRicmFrZXMuY29tyAEC2gEWaHR0cDovL2ZvcmRicmFrZXMuY29tL4ACAagDAw&gclid=CJu2m5HWnI8CFSUYagodtkXDew&ciNum=11

Reviews
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136191/article.html



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You can do an online scan for viruses and spyware for free from the major vendors. Some of these require Internet Explorer to run because of Active-X

Trend-Micro
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
Computer Associates
http://www.ca.com/us/securityadvisor/pestscan/
Panda Software
http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/activescan/
Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/?langid=ie&venid=sym
Mcafee Free Scan
http://us.mcafee.com/root/catalog.asp?catid=free
Kaspersky Scanner
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
Microsoft Protection Scanner
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/center/howsafe.htm?s_cid=mscom_msrt
F-Secure
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/olsbeta.shtml
BitDefender
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html
NOD32
http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/index.php


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Its good to run two anti-spywares even if some extra resources are taken.

SuperAntiSpyware does an excellent job. AVG's full version gets great reviews.



Adaware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware

Microsoft Defender
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

AVG
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-spyware-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

Spyware Terminator 2
http://www.spywareterminator.com/

Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/

SuperAntispyware
http://superantispyware.com/


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Anti-Spyware for a cost.
Personally I bought Webroot's Spysweeper, their product is great and well worth the money. Watch Best Buy ads because sometimes it goes on sale for $10 to $15.

Webroot Spysweeper
http://www.webroot.com/consumer/compare/freeware.html?rc=4929
PCTools Spyware Doctor
http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/

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There are free anti-virus scanners availble. They work well. I like AVG and PCTools anti-viruses the best of the free anti-virus programs.
If you are not willing to spend money it is good to have some kind of anti-virus software

avg
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

avast
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

Avira AntiVir
http://www.free-av.com/

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For a Cost
This is my recommendation for anti-virus. Free are good, but they are not as accurate as the top paid anti-virus software

Top-Tier
Kaspersky
http://www.kasepersky.com

Nod32
http://www.eset.com/

Answer 2

Are you sure it is Spybot that is using your resources?
Please check out the following. It may look formidable at first glance, but you will see it just involves a few mouse clicks and after running through them, if you rerun about every two weeks, it will take less and less time. It will make an improvement in speed.

1. Set wallpaper and screensavers to blank or none — they run continuously in the background and use memory.
-----right-click on the desktop, select Properties
-----click the screensaver tab, on the left where it says "screensaver," select none.
-----click the desktop tab, for background, select none
2. Review your start menu – remove anything you don’t need on a daily basis — load games, etc. on an as-needed basis.
-----click Start, Settings, Taskbar and Start Menu
-----click the Start Menu tab
-----select a program you do not want to load at Startup, then click remove.
-----Caution -- do not touch anything you are not sure of or you will mess up your computer royally.
3. From Internet Explorer, click Tools, Internet Options: delete cookies, delete files (offline), and clear history. (You can also set days to store history to 0.)
----- These actions will clear your computer’s cache. (For a description of cache, go to http://help.yahoo.com/l/ph/yahoo/mail/access/access-27210.html )
4. Run Disk Cleanup, Scandisk, Defrag at least every two weeks (the more frequently they are run, the less time they take).
-----These can be found in Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools.
5. Periodically, click Start, Programs, Run — then type ipconfig renew
(that’s ipconfig space renew).
6. Optional: Speed vs Goodies — in the Control Panel, System, Advanced, Performance, Settings — you can have visual effects or let Windows select the best options. I am using “Best Performance.” Your choice.
These things should increase speed and free up memory as much as possible.

Answer 3

To remove spyware,there are many solutions exist, all of them with their own strengths and weaknesses.
You had better install at least 2 antispyware
Top 5 anti-spywares reviews,comparisons and download links on
http://www.anti-spyware-center.com
You can download and scan your computer for free.

Answer 4

I had the same experience..You should only need ONE good one which does what it's supposed to do without lagging your PC and for me I use.
http://free-spyware-doctor.blogspot.com
which is free..

Answer 5

I use Windows Defender but don't think it's that great.

Try Ad-Aware Personal instead.

Answer 6

I use a program called Ccleaner....works great for me...
www.ccleaner.com