Whats Your Best Spyware Remover?

[Grafitti 0]

I use Ad-aware SE 1.06 and it catches alot of stuff. of course a single program wouldn't catch everything, so every now and then i run Search and Destroy, and Hijackthis!, and clean everything out that adaware didn't find. i'm not a fan of microsoft antispyware. aside from things of theirs i need to use like windows and office, i shy away from anything they've bought and taken over.

[computerjoe 0]

1) Microsoft AntiSpyware (MS isn't always bad)2) Spybot S&D (gee, freeware)3) Ad-aware (paid version available - boo)

[fabiocardoso 0]

I Like "Spybot Search & Destroy". It's freeware.

[yordan 10]

Till now, Spybot found no extra things after a full ad-aware scans.By the way, where do you find the Microsoft Anti-Spyware (I mean could you post a link here) and how do you make it work every night ? All I found was through Microsoft Update, and it ran only once, juste after downloading.

[newtd 0]

I have a question (or a series of them). I know spyware embeds itself in my registry and follows file usage and website visitation to collect data. But what does it do? Does it collect a list of URL's? Can it exit my http session? If it does, what possibly relevant data can it find in my file system? A technical breakdown of what happens when spyware loads on my computer and what data it returns, along with analytical uses for the data, would be appreciated.

 

P.S. -Adaware is great, but Spybot's startup search gives it a chance to find programs running in your initial configuration that adaware may miss, so it's a good idea to use both. The best prevention is cellabacy; don't dowload silly stuff onto your machine.

[wutske 0]

I don't use it, but Hitman Pro (https://www.hitmanpro.com/en-us.aspx site is dutch, but program is also in english).It automaticly updates and runs these apps:Ad-Aware SE 1.06 Personal (Freeware),Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4Spy Sweeper 3 en 4 (trial)Spyware Doctor 3.2CWShredder 2.15 FreewareSpywareBlaster 3.4Spyware Block ListSysclean Package FreewareSuperDAT VirusScanand autmaticly removers found adware. I don't use it because you have absolutely no control.I myself use Ad-aware, Spybot, Spywareblaster. That's all I need, Opera is a lot safer and 99% of the adware that comes with other software is found by these tools.And I also have a hosts file and a good virusscanner installed.

[TheJeffsta 0]

The best Spyware remover, that ive used would have to be Spybot Search and Destroy. I have also used other programs such as Bullguard, Ad-aware which are all good programs but are just good to just be the bit more certain about not have spyware on your computer. I would give Spybot Search and Destroy an 8 out of 10Another good protection program is Zone Alarm Security Suite. It features Privacy Control, ID lock, Antivirus, Antispyware, one of the best firewalls. I would give Zone Alarm Security Suite a 9 out of ten.

[fabiocardoso 0]

Spybot Search & Destroy is a very good (freeware) anti-spayware.

[WeaponX 0]

There is no program out that that will fix all the known (and unknown) spyware infections out there. It's just impossible to do this.The two I recommend using are Ad-aware and Spybot. Both do a terrific job. Someone here said that Spybot doesn't seem to do a full scan, but it does. It's just that Ad-aware probably got rid of them already (if you ran that program before Spybot).Microsoft AntiSpyware used to be one of the programs I asked users to run, but not anymore. Microsoft has decided to take out some of the known spyware infections that we (security analysts) remove because they made a deal with the other companies. So what's happening now is that when you run a scan, these known spyware entries are set to Ignore in Microsoft AntiSpyware instead of the usual remove. Due to their actions, this program is now not recommended to use anymore.Someone here mentioned getting Aluria Software. That's not a good software you would want to get. They have joined forces with the advertising company called WhenU and I definitely wouldn't trust them.I will give one of the user's here a brief breakdown of what's spyware since it was asked. Spyware can be anything from a software that's installed without your permission to actual programs monitoring your actions. They can also bog down your system if it gets to that point. Let's just say it's not a good thing to have.Since there is no definite way to remove some of these spyware, we usually ask users to use other tools to help us determine what's the problem. Most of these tools are not automatic removal and require a helper to assist you with using it, so a normal user should not be doing this by themselves (it's not like Ad-aware and Spybot where you can just point and click remove).

[Sarah81 0]

i also like the lavasoft adaware program. it is a great program that picks up adawre or spyware that some other programs cant. It also has a feature on it where you can update it. it is also free as well

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No kidding on catching what other progs don't. I had forgotten all about AdAware when I set this notebook up so I went with PCDr - which didn't catch anything. Then I ran AdAware like 10 minutes later and it caught 11 problems. Hmm. Yep - AdAware wins again.

[rantsh 0]

I like spybot search and destroy, it's freeware and completly updatable, I usually combine it with lavasoft's adware (free edition).I've found that you can avoid a lot of spyware and adware by using firefox instead of IE.

[g22coates 0]

Through my using of spyware removers and such I found the best to be used together:-AVG AntiVirus Free-Microsoft Anti Spyware Beta-Pest PatrolI don't think norton is very good and don't reccomend getting it.

[Silvercoke 0]

i use ad aware and ccleaner and that is about it.

[HTML_Guru 0]

My preference:Spybot S&D - Microsoft Anti Spyware Beta (yeah, I use 2, wanna fight about it?!)Spyware BlasterSymantec AntiVirus programAlone, they're cold, helpless beings... but together, a deadly combination...

[stusrud 0]

Xsoft Spy, works great, most programs you have to restart your computer or whatever to get rid of the spyware and then reboot and all that hasle, not with this, start it up while your doing anything, it will take about 3-5 minutes to locate all the spyware on your computer, then you select what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of, it gets rid of it quickly and easily. Two thumbs up!