Spyware, viruses, & security forum: Which spyware program is better?

If I had to choose from between those 2 only, I'd probably go with the Webroot Spysweeper.More extensive but I'm rather put off by the "try it, find the problems, & PAY us to get rid of them" bit. Too many scams have used the tougher variant of " we installed the spyware during your online scan or downloaded free trial, and now you must PAY us to take it away".
You might consider Ewido SS as being very comprehensive with a free trial period ( all benefits) and removal & continued use of scanner & removal & manual update (but without Auto Update & resident guard) after free trial expires.The reason for this is some programs don't sit well with some computer configurations and you shouldn't have to pay before finding this out w/ regards to your particular machine. I would prefer this over either of the 2 you mentioned. Note: The 2 you mention are available via retail stores (often at clear out discounts) and would give you a physical disk with the program on it as opposed to downloading over web and replacement problems if program ever becomes corrupt or you need to reformat. I suppose you can also get them to mail you the cd via online.
In TRUTH: You really CAN get all you really need online for FREE from very reputable companies! You DO need more than one program for various anti-spyware/adware etc. Most are specialized for what they go after therefore likely better than an "all things to all people" type suite. (Ever tried 1 size fits all socks? Doesn't fit anyone very well!)
The following link is to a post w/ a smorgasborg of free legit programs (some trojan hunters free period/pay after trying) widely used here and trusted. At the top of the page is link to a site that lists almost all the pay programs to AVOID(Rogues)! Add it to your "Favorites/Bookmarks" for easy reference along with this link for easy downloading source. :
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6132-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=114259&messageID=1298628
Enjoy the buffet (the price is right!!)!!

I noticed that you were NOT including "StopZilla" in your list. I installed their Scan engine but question the accuracy of the reports. I even tried to find some files that were reported as Spyware but they were NOT on my system! I was showing all hidden and system files in those Folders. Maybe the files were renamed after they were run on startup? Their Scan was SO Fast that I believe they're only checking the Registry for issues. The Spybot Search and Destroy Scan is MUCH longer but at least I know it's actively Searching my system for Spyware Footprints. Even after removing the Spyware from Search & Destroy, StopZilla was still reporting the same files! Maybe their initial report files had to be Refreshed or something?

I discovered that only BitDefender 9 was able to Clean my computer to a reliable system again. I somehow still got infected by the "CoolWWWSearch" Adware which is also an explorer Hi-jacker. I've even used their own Un-installer but they came back again! This probably happened when I was Un-installing one Anti-virus program to install another for evaluation. So far BitDefender has been able to intercept any further Trojans, Hijack or virus threats and my system is running fine again.

While it can be useful to purchase ''anti-spyware'' software, there are ''free'' software programs available that will do a great job on their own or as a companion (compliment) other programs you may be running.

The free programs that I use (beyond my McAfee Suite) include Spybot, Ad-aware, and Mircrosoft Anti-Spyware. I have found that no one anti-spyware program catches everything out there and that by running at least three anti-software programs, I have done a better job in protecting my computer. Another program to review for free-download is Avast (forgot to mention that earlier).

You can research these on c/net (download many right from this site) or you will be re/directed to the company site.

Hope you find this helpful.

The only problem I've found is that if you have multiple (say two) programs monitoring registry changes, you get two reports of an attempted change popping up on top of one another. When you tell one to allow/disallow the change, you also have to tell the other. Choosing only one program for registry monitoring solves that problem.

I don't find a way to turn off SpyBot S&D's registry scan, but you can add any detected items you wish to an "exclude" list. If I recall correctly, Ad-Aware/Ad-Watch does allow you to turn off registry scanning (or registry change monitoring), but as Ad-Aware seems to have become broken at the moment, I have uninstalled it. I would get the "blue screen of death" system crash screen each time I ran Ad-Aware ... Ad-Watch wasn't a problem. This just started occurring within the past couple of weeks ... I think there may have been a software update that was the culprit as it always worked fine before. One of these days (after I get my taxes done), I will reinstall it and see if I can figure out what was going on.

I have 5 anti-spyware/adware programs, but only use one (SptSweeper) for real-time scanning.

Hey rapunzel77gil,

Everyone likes different programs for many different reasons. I have Webroots Spysweeper which I have come to trust (I've had some recent complaints) but they are definitely on top of things.

Now you want two really strong FREE Anti-Spyware/Anti-Trojan progams, go get these two:

EWIDO
A-SQUARED

They are both FREE, updated at least daily, Ewido is updated 1 to 5 times a day.

Ewido http://www.ewido.net/en/download/
A-SQUARED http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

Hope that Helps,
Steve

Use more than one. Example:

One to prevent most spies coming in : Spyware Blaster.
Aonther to clean out those which slip in: Spybot S&D.
Yet another for a "third opinion": Ewido.
You may add in Ad Aware SE for detecting and removing specialized "spywares"(advertisment spies)

They are all free.

in case you're wondering.

The other posts were right, you can get this stuff free. However, I had not had good luck with the freebies and they usually end up taking space on my PC after the trial ends and at times doing more harm than good to my PC. I buy because I am in control and how I work my PC, and it usually ends up working better and more efficiently too. I also buy because it gives me a better, quality product to use. Free is nice, but it doesn't mean good quality. You know the saying, 'you get what you pay for'. If your PC is important to you, invest in it to take care of it,,,just like your own body.

Also, the on-line sites that 'scan' your PC and then want your money? He's right, stay away. And most freebies are 'very limited' in what they can do anyway so why not just buy them. Remember, they're free,,,and as we all know,,,NOTHING IS FREE IN LIFE. They'll want something in return.
Like I said,,,E-Bay has some very good prices on these software and it's all legal.

I have the paid version and I was getting that message everynight when I would scan. It would remove it and next night it was there. Found out it was a false positive. And I needed to do the upgrade. After I did that, it no longer told me I had that trogen. Barb

I have all the " Anti-Spyware " installed on my PC. They are Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Professional, Webroot " Spy Sweeper ", P C Tools " Spyware Doctor ", Microsmart " Spywarebegone 7.85 ", McAfee "Anti-Spyware'. Do you know you pay a lumpsum for the Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Professional? You do not need to renew the subscription every year. P C Tools charges US$ 19.95 to renew the " Spyware Doctor " when you renew your annual subscritption. Webroot will give you a break if you pay 24 months subscription for US$ 29.95 which I did. Note P C Tools will cost you US$ 19.95x2=US$ 39.90 for 24 months. I used to be a big fan of P C Tools when they are WinGuide of the " Registry Mechanic ". Not any more as the latest " Registry Mechanic " released on 14th December, 2005 is not " Unicode compliance " and their technical support is very slow. McAfee " Anti-Spyware " takes two hours to complete a full scan and not accurate. Therefore, I suggest you to use Microsoft "Anti-Spyware " instead. I never like any software from either McAfee or Symantec as they are over-rated and over-priced but poor in overall performance. I think Webroot is a good deal if you intend to use it for several years as US$ 29.95 for 24 months and as I recall 36 months will be less. Lavasoft SE Professional is one time deal. You get free upgrade and update for US$ 50.00 something as I never have to worry to pay. P C Tools charges the highest among the competitors but I am very disappointed with them since last year. Do you know Webroot offer a free " Spy Audit " on their web-site? In other words, after you have finished your browsing on the internet, go to www.webroot.com and look for the " Spy Audit ". In a matter of minutes, you will know if you have any "Spyware " hidden in your PC. The so called " Spyware " are coming from the "Internet Explorer ". You should download the Clean Cache 3.2 from ButtUglySoftware.com or get the " Privacy Guardian " from P C Tools or " Window Washer " from Webroot to clean your clutter on your cache.

If your Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Professional is the 1.06r1 version, you should receive the update on weekly basis as every seven days ( less than ten days ), I will get the update ( new definition ) as I got the new definition on 24th January, 2006 which was three days ago. Make sure you have the 1.06r1 version as most people simply have the Lavasoft Ad-Aware Personal Version NOT the SE Professional version. I am sure Lavasoft will look up your file and verify that you have the 1.06r1 version which one will have the new definition every week. The SE Professional version is at least US$ 20.00 more than the Personal version. Again, you pay a lumpsum and never get another billing unlike P C Tools and Webroot.
The freebies like Spybot-search and destroy and Bazooka are not in the same league of the Lavasoft, P C Tools and Webroot.

One rule of thumb is that you can't have too many spyware or adware detecting programs. However, I currently use SpySweeper by Webroot and find it to be a very effective program. Recently, a television show on G4TV named, ''CALL FOR HELP,'' a show which helped your average pc user with technical issues did a test on 5 different anti-spyware programs and PEST PATROL by CA Associates won hands down! They also suggested Microsoft's Anti-Spyware program did a good job. Currently, I have SpySweeper, Spybot Search & Destroy, Pest Patrol, and Ad-aware SE Personal installed on my system. The Microsoft program, Spybot and Ad-aware SE are all free downloads that you can use and are very effective. Hope this helps.

Found Spyware Doctor to be the most effective. Use in conjunction with Norton antivirus.Combo seems to work well together. The most cumbersome and troublesome was System Mechanic Professional V.6.0. That was a nightmare. ''Spyware Detector'' found many but not as good as or effective as Spyware Doctor.