Top 10 AntiSpyware of 2011

Couple of days ago,we reviewed the top ten antivirus softwares for 2011.Today we are going to review the best antispyware solutions for 2011.While reviewing the softwares we took many tests regarding scan performance,detection effectiveness,system performance while using the software,technical support,compatibility issues,user interface etc.Generally spyware and malware are used to track user behavior online and record keystrokes for obtaining your passwords or important information from your confidential files rather than deleting or modifying your data like viruses.While most antivirus solutions are capable of detecting spyware ,an additional antispyware software would make your computer safer.

1.Webroot SpySweeper 2011:

The number 1 recommendation is always easy for the past couple of years.Webroot’s popular Spysweeper software continues its brilliant detection of spywares in its 2011 version too.Undoubtedly it is the best anti-spyware solution available today.In its 2011 version Webroot came up with some new features like online backup so you can access your files anywhere.The scanning speed of spysweeper is slower when compared to other products but it has the best detection techniques that made us rank it higher than others.Spysweeper has a clean and simple user interface providing options like game mode etc so that it doesn’t slow down your pc while you are gaming.Webroot provides free customer support to you over telephone,email, Facebook and twitter which is quite good.Coming to system performance while using the software,it definitely slows down your system if it has below 1Ghz processor and less than 1GB ram.Systems having above these specifications doesn’t notice any lag and spysweeper works smoothly.A complete scanning on our system having 3Ghz processor,2GB ram,500Gb hardisk running Windows 7 took about 25-30 minutes which is reasonable.Spysweeper has 3 scanning modes namely quick scan,full scan and custom scan.Webroot Spysweeper comes with many features like detecting ad-ware,malware, key-loggers, root kits,spyware,tracking cookies, Trojans etc. Spysweeper also supports anti-phishing, anti-spam,auto updates,email scanning,restoring mode,scheduling scan.Spysweeper costs $29.95 for 1 PC.All in all we rate webroot antispyware no.1 in the top 10 antispyware count down.

2.Sunbelt CounterSpy 4.0.3904:

Sunbelt Software’s Counterspy came second in our list of top ten antispyware.CounterSpy did a fair job in detecting spywares.The main area where Counterspy scores more over Webroot spysweeper and other antispyware products is its user interface.Sunbelt software did a fantastic job with its user interface where other products failed.Customisation of the software is one of the areas where Sunbelt achieved most.It has modes like Kernel-level 24/7 Active Protection with default settings for novice users however and an expert user can easily tell the software what to detect and what to clean.Another area where counterspy is better than spysweeper is resource usage,Counterspy can run smoothly even if your system has less than 1GB of Ram.So for users who are having older systems,we will definitely recommend Counterspy than spysweeper.Though counterspy has these advantages over other products ,the detection of spyware is not as good as spysweeper which made us rank it no.2 in the top 10 antispyware list.The scanning time is less than spysweeper (about 20 minutes for a pc with above mentioned specs) .Like all other products counterspy protects you from adware,malware,spyware,trojans etc.The only missing feature we found in spysweeper is anti-spam support.Overall Counterspy is a very great product at a very reasonable price of $19.95 for 1 PC.

3.PC tools Spyware Doctor 2011:

PC tools is a major player in providing anti-spyware software over the past few years.Spyware Doctor 2011 keeps up with its reputation and is ranked number 3 in our Top 10 antispyware list. Talking about user interface,Spyware doctor has a unique UI.There are no sub menus,dialog boxes entirely.It is a simple tab design and whatever you want to do ,it is just a click away which is very pleasing for beginners .Generally we need an active internet connection for our security products to keep our data safe.Spware doctor doesn’t actually rely on definiton database but can actually have the technology to make on-the-fly choices.We found it very effective even when it’s not updated.So for users who don’t have an internet connection everyday,spyware doctor is the best bet. Intelliscan is one of the important features that spyware doctor possess which can stop spyware from entering your PC that were previously detected.So once it detects a spyware on your pc ,there is no chance that it comes back again.Spyware doctor is very heavy on using pc resources and you need a decent system with 2GB ram to run it smoothly which is the main disadvantage and made us rank no. 3 among the top 10 antivirus.PC tools provide good technical support over telephone,email and live chat. It comes at a price of $29.99 for 1 PC.

4.Ad-Aware Pro 8.3

Lavasoft’s Ad-aware is another brilliant anti-spyware software.It is simple,effective and lightweight.The userinterface is good and has two modes for basic users and advanced ones.Ad-Watch Live! Expert technology gives realtime protection to your computer.Lavasoft’s Genocode detection technology another important feature which is Ad-Aware’s advanced heuristic detection, which will proactively scan files and analyses if a file is malicious by nature, even if it is not on the virus definitions yet.Adware is very effective against spyware when compared to other anitvirus products but not good as those which are specifically designed for spyware like spysweeper,counterspy, etc .It does not use many resources and works just fine even on a PC with 512MB ram.There are some missing features like antispam and email scanner that restricts it becoming the best,but it does the job very well with its limited features.It comes at a price of $29.95 for 1 PC and makes its space at no.4 on top 10 antispyware softwares.

5.SUPER AntiSpyware Professional 4.46:

SUPER Antispyware professional is a very nice product which doesn’t use much space on your harddisk and has powerful and effective scanning and detection engines.The user interface is very straight forward. It doesn’t use much resources and doesn’t slow down your PC on most occasions.The scanning time is fast than other products and completes in 18-22 minutes .It detects most of the spyware,malware,trojans effectively and removes them completely.It has frequent updates which requires an always-on internet connection.This new version has protection against keyloggers which is impressive.SUPER antispyware has improved a lot over the years and we expect some great features in future too.It comes at a price of $29.95 for 1 PC.A deserving one to be included in the top 10 antispywares.

6.STOPzilla 5:

When we first looked at the feature set of this product we were impressed and expected it to be in top 3.But we are disappointed with the test results as they are not strong enough to detect some keyloggers and trojans though it was effective with spyware and malware.The user interface is good and simple but nothing exceptional to talk about.It is a very good product for detecting spyware but we don’t recommend it to be a must have because others are providing better detection and removal.Scanning is neither too fast nor too slow.A full scan happened over for 20 minutes.It still hasn’t became a complete spyware software as it has some missing features like antispam,email scanning.It comes at a price of $39.95 which is a bit overrated.

7.Malwarebytes Antimalware 1.5:

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware is a nice lightweight program.It doesnt take much of your hard disk space ,the user interface is good with 2 scan modes – quick and full .The navigation of interface is not at all complicated.It has a tool called File Assassin which can unlock those files which are locked by some malicious programs.It does very effective job against malware and a mediocre job against spyware.We recommend using a spyware software ranked higher along with this to get top-notch protection against both malware and spyware.It is priced at $24.95 which is quite decent and stands still at no.7 in out countdown of top antispyware softwares.

8.SpyZooka 2.5 :

BluePenguins Spyzooka is another spyware software which looks good but still requires some areas to be strengthened . Spyzooka offers complete browser support which is very important.It supports IE,Firefox,Opera and Netscape. Their techincal support is also very good.Apart from this browser advantage it doesn’t actually impress us in its detection and removal techniques.It comes at a price of $29.95.It looks good enuf for no.8 spot in the top 10 antispyware count down.

9.Spy Hunter 4:

Enigma Software Group’s Spyhunter is very good product except for the updates support.It has very infrequent update definition list.Getting frequent updates for the latest spywares and trojans across the internet is very important and enigma failed in providing it.The UI has some confusing elements regarding customization,but for all basic tools it remained fine.Enigma needs to take care about its definition list to compete with its rivals.It comes at a price of $39.99 .

10 . ZeroSpyware 3.4:

FBM software’s ZeroSpyware makes last into our list of top 10 antispywares.Seeing its name we assumed after a scan we would be left with zero spyware but unfortunately we had about 20 spyware left undetected which were detected by others.Zerospyware does a good job in detecting malware,trojans and worms but isn’t upto the mark when it comes to keyloggers and spyware.ZeroSpyware has a 24/7 live technical support for which it scores an extra point but It misses important features like antiphising,antispam and email scanning and also does not detect adware which restricts it to become a fully featured software.We expect FBM software overcome these limitations in future releases.It comes at a price of $29.95.

Source :- gadgetdust.com

Choosing the right anti-spyware scanner is a task that requires considering several different factors. In most cases, there is a need to consider the attributes of your system, particularly the operating system and the amount of random access memory or RAM available on the hard drive. Along with these basics, it’s a good idea to consider what other types of security features are included with the scanner, particularly the ability of the product to block new spyware and wipe out any malware or spyware that the scanner does find on your system.

The process of evaluating any anti-spyware scanner begins with finding software that is compatible with your operating system. For people using the latest versions of different operating systems, this is a relatively easy task. Just about every type of anti-spyware software on the market today will work with operating systems released over the last four to five years. If your system is older than that, it may take some searching to find software that is right for your system and offers the ability to update the detection feature of the software from time to time. Keep in mind that older computers have limited memory, making it necessary to determine how much RAM is needed to run the anti-spyware scanner you have in mind before actually installing the software.
Once you identify several different anti-spyware scanner packages that are right for your system, look closely at the features each one offers. Ideally, you want a computer Security product that will work well with any existing anti-virus program you currently use. At the same time, get some idea of how the computer cleanup works. Go for scanners that not only locate spyware, but also isolate suspected bugs so you can review them before actually removing them from your system. This prevents any issues of accidentally removing something that is vital to the operation of one or more programs on the hard drive.

Before actually downloading and installing any anti-spyware scanner, take the time to research what others think of the software. Look for reviews on consumer sites and forums where people gather to discuss different types of security protection. Take note of any issues that others have had with the software, especially if the product does not seem to block much in the way of malware or spyware. With a little research, you can find the right anti-spyware scanner for your system, and protect the integrity of the computer from these bugs that slow down the system’s operation, while preventing tracking of your movements around the Internet.

Source:-wisegeek.com

Fake Antispyware Software - Tips to Identify and Avoid

The Internet has made our lives easier but it comes with a few curses too. While the Internet has changed the way we do business and share things, it has also led to online frauds and crimes. When you download or purchase a product online, you can never be 100% percent certain of its authenticity until you actually use the product or service yourself. This is because the Internet has become the new frontier for criminals who find it easier to cheat people and cause damage to them due to its sheer reach to millions of users. One unique way of gaining illegal access to your computer that is used by cyber criminals is to create fake antispyware or antivirus programs that are actually malicious software.

To prevent yourself from becoming a victim of these rogue antispyware tools, it is essential for you to learn how to differentiate between a fake antispyware and a real antispyware program. Here are some useful tips to help you identify a fake antispyware program.

Uses Scare Tactics

A fake antispyware software displays fake spyware alerts on your computer and frightens you into purchasing its full version. These alerts claim that the only way to get rid of spyware from your system is to perform a full system scan using a paid version of the recommended fake spyware tool. Such rogue tools, also known as scareware, never provide any protection against spyware. What they actually do is scam you out of money and install additional spyware onto your computer.

Uses Pressure Marketing

If scaring you is not enough, the promoters of these fake antispyware programs also bombard you with aggressive marketing campaigns to force you into buying their protection software. The most aggressive rogue antispyware programs will hijack your web browser and force you to their associated websites and make it impossible for you to access any other websites.

Looks Similar to Genuine Antispyware Programs

To make it difficult for an innocent computer user to identify them, fake antispyware programs have an interface that looks quite similar to popular, legitimate, and well-known antispyware programs. In addition, these fake antispyware programs illegally use official Windows logos to make themselves look more legit. If you don't know how to distinguish between the two, you can easily fall into the rogue antispyware's malicious trap and cause damage to your computer.

Performs Extremely Poor Scanning and Reporting

If you fall prey to the tactics used by these tools and end up buying a fake antispyware software, you can immediately identify it to be a fake when it automatically scans your PC and displays the final results. First, a legitimate antispyware tool will never scan your system without your permission. Next, you will notice that the displayed results are quite general and do not give out any specific information related to the detected infections. Finally, you may notice that the software conveniently skips several essential files and folders from the scanning process.

Causes More Problems on your Computer

Instead of cleaning spyware from your computer, a rogue software further infects your PC by downloading and installing additional malicious programs onto your computer. The additional malicious programs will further slow down your computer and make it unstable.

Now that you know how to identify a fake antispyware program, it is essential for you to know how to choose the best antispyware for your computer. One of the best ways to identify a genuine antispyware software is to have a look at various user and expert reviews on the Internet. In general, a simple Internet search will tell you whether a particular software is genuine or not. A good antispyware tool will perform a thorough scanning of your computer with your permission only and will categorize the results on the basis of their severity levels.

As a vigilant user, it is essential for you to identify the difference between a fake antispyware and a genuine antispyware program. Whereas a fake tool will scare and force you into buying it, a genuine tool gains its popularity through positive user reviews, genuine scanning, and reporting features.

Such a genuine antispyware tool can be found here.

Peter Herme is a computer system administrator with over 20 years of experience. After his very own PC was infected with spyware and losing years worth of personal files, he has vowed never to let something like that happen to him or other computer users again. As a result, he tried out various antispyware programs and learned how to properly secure his computer from spyware, malware, adware, viruses, and other computer attacks. His website details his research and is constantly updated with tips on preventing and removing spyware.

Source: http://goo.gl/bKpcl