Is Free Spyware Protection Possible?
Even a paid first class security application will occasionally fail to do it's job. Your chances of being secure will dramatically increase by installing additional security software.
There are many free security applications on the market these days. They all usually look shiny, sleek, and of course claim extreme reliability. But before you actually proceed with installing any of them, you should do your research and confirm that all of those claims are true and backed up with factual input by real people with no affiliation to the company whatsoever. Being able to recognize true quality is a must. Skip the official testimonials and search for additional reviews.
Capabilities and Features
Clean interface, positive user experience and the ability to get used to the application quickly is a big plus. Fast and effective scans, regularly updated database of malicious threat definitions and real time protection are obviously the most important features to look for. Updates should be scheduled or done completely automatically in the background.
The application itself must be optimized. This means that it should run smoothly and not influence or downgrade the computer's performance a lot.
Free vs Paid
Instead of buying a handful of professional security applications and slowing down the computer considerably, users should be encouraged to try a couple of top rated free spyware removers along with their primary security suite. Free does not necessarily mean low quality. In this case, it should be considered as purely supplemental. Otherwise, you are inviting disaster by not having any protection at all.
Spybot - Search & Destroy
Spybot is one of the oldest absolutely free spyware removers available on the market today. With no strings attached or trial versions, it definitely belongs to a class of top rated free security software. Spybot was developed and it is still maintained by a software engineer Patrick Michael Kolla. It is translated into more than 50 languages.
The program is capable of automatically updating itself, running scans and providing real time protection. It can search for many different types of malicious threats such as dialers, trojans, spyware, adware and keyloggers.
Official Website | Download | Tutorials | Features
Spybot - Search & Destroy is completely free, but if you would like to make a donation and help the project, please visit this page: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/donate/index.html
As of recently, a new version of the application was released. Spybot - Search & Destroy 2.0 (currently in beta) is made public and it provides an even better way of dealing with malicious threats. It has a cleaner and more comprehensive user interface as well as new and improved security modules.
You can enroll in beta here: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd2/index.html
Your feedback is much appreciated!
Spyware Terminator
Another highly effective free anti-spyware tool that comes from the Crawler LLC company with headquarters based in Boca Raton Florida is Spyware Terminator. This tool also has a nice clean interface, supports real time protection and offers a couple of additional modules such as File Analysis, File Removal and System Restoration.
3 types of scans are available. Fast scan will check for known spyware locations and it is usually completed in less than 2 minutes. Full system scan will check all of the hard drives, which shouldn't take longer than 15 - 20 minutes depending on the size. And a custom scan that will let you specify what exactly do you want to scan. Reports are very comprehensive and informative.
Scans and updates can be scheduled and automatic.
Official Website | Features
Malwarebytes AntiMalware
Definitely one of the fastest and highest praised security applications on the market. Although the 100% free version does not allow real time protection (you can start a 14 day trial) it can still serve you well by combining it with some or all of the other ones mentioned in this guide.
The scans are very quick and you will get full protection and updates completely free of charge. You can use it to quickly get rid of any possible infections that might go unnoticed by another anti-spyware remover.
The program can scan through memory, file system, registry and startup objects. Scheduled scans are not available in the free version, but automatic updates are.
Official Website | Download
Windows Defender
Microsoft Windows offers a built in spyware protection module known as Windows Defender. Windows Vista and Windows 7 users already have the module activated, but Windows XP users will have to manually download and install.
The software is based on the previous GIANT AntiSpyware application which was acquired by Microsoft on December 16, 2004. A stable version of Windows Defender (formerly known as Microsoft AntiSpyware) was made public on October 24, 2006.
Windows Defender is a solid reliable anti-spyware tool capable of picking up most of the malicious threats a computer could encounter. It often fails to detect viruses or worms, but it does a decent job as an added layer of protection. You will have to own a genuine copy of Windows in order to use this application. Installation is nice and smooth, and the tool is very easy to use and configure.
It will automatically start with Windows and it will also provide you with real time protection. The automatic update option is supported.
Download
Spyware Blaster - Block Spyware
This is not a typical anti-spyware application since it does not scan your system for spyware. It rather blocks it from getting infected by it in the first place. A good concept and a great tool to have. Download, install and simply click the enable all protection link from within the interface. It will protect your browsers from unauthorized spyware installation attempts, but it is not capable of removing any malicious threats already present in your system.
The most important thing is that it operates in complete stealth mode without interfering with your browsing experience. Unfortunately, Opera is yet to be supported.
Official Website | Download
