Best Anti-spyware.

[BCHOWDHURY]

I have Norton Internet Security. Recently purchase Spyware Doctor. It's hogging my Windows 8 Pro. Just uninstalled it. Now want a good anti-spyware. Commercial ones will do as well. Which one to choose?

[Tinman57]

I have Norton Internet Security. Recently purchase Spyware Doctor. It's hogging my Windows 8 Pro. Just uninstalled it. Now want a good anti-spyware. Commercial ones will do as well. Which one to choose?

  SpybotS&D is free and highly rated.  It also has a background app called Teatimer that gives you real-time protection on the net, but I don't run it because it eats up about 80mb of RAM.

[40hz]

IMHO either Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or SUPER AntiSpyware will do quite nicely. I've used both and think they're equally capable.

I also haven't found it necessary to have multiple realtime scanners running. Just get yourself a decent antivirus utility with realtime protection features (Avast, Avira, Microsoft Security Essentials. etc.) and use that as your primary defense along with the firewall built into Windows.

Also grab a free copy of Secunia's PSI utility to keep up on application updates and security risks.

Keep Windows, your malware definitions, and your apps regularly updated - and run Malwarebytes or SUPER every so often (weekly or thereabouts) and you should never have a problem unless you do something very silly.

This is all I run on most of my systems, and I have experienced only one actual malware issue to date. And that was about four years ago.

Luck!

[MilesAhead]

I like MBAM.  I also started using ClamWin since it's open source. Gizmo's site has a big list

Often on that site the user comments talk up some software I was unaware of otherwise. You can find a few gems in the comments on occasion.  Kind of like using a metal detector at the beach. A lot of bottle caps. But here and there something worth picking up.

[J-Mac]

I am running Norton AV 2012 and Malwarebytes Pro version. Both co-exist peacefully and run very nicely on my box. Neither hog CPU or memory.

Jim

[BCHOWDHURY]

Thanks for suggestions. Tried both Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware. Finally decided to go for SuperAntiSpyware. It has a life-time license.

[40hz]

^Good choice. It should serve you well.

[MilesAhead]

Thanks for suggestions. Tried both Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware. Finally decided to go for SuperAntiSpyware. It has a life-time license.

MBAM free version is fine for a scanner. I've been using it for a few years now. I have no desire to use the real-time features even if they were free. But I like the scanner. It downloads the database on every update. Approx. 6 MB of download. It may not be for those on dial-up. But the theory being if malware tampered with the db then it's refreshed on every update. (Could be there's no "theory" other than it's easier to program that way. I don't really know which is the case.)  

[J-Mac]

Thanks for suggestions. Tried both Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware. Finally decided to go for SuperAntiSpyware. It has a life-time license.

FYI, Malwarebytes Pro version is also a lifetime license. 

Jim

[yksyks]

Any experiences here with the new Ad-Aware 10? It comes now with the anti-virus. Using it on one of my machines for a couple of weeks and so far so good, except one false positive (StartClock, by the way). At least my PC is more responsive after I got rid of MSSE.

[Carol Haynes]

Microsoft Security Essentials + MBAM Pro - great team, effective and cheap (free plus one off license)

Never found AdAware to be much good and Spybot doesn't seem to have been updated in years (version 1.6.2 has been out for as long as I remember).

I am amazed people are still using MacAfee and Norton - Iwouldn't let either of them with a mile of my systems. I spend too much time cleaning up messes that they haven't caught and their business practices (such as setting up regular payments without asking - or even when you specifically say no - and then hiking the price year on year is bordering on criminal behaviour). I almost consider both to be a scam - especially they way they appear ubiquitously on almost every new computer.

If you don't want to use MSE and want to pay for an antivirus try the paid for versions of AVAST or Avira.

[RachelBuzz]

I use Unthreat Antivirus and I'm happy with it. I haven't had a virus since I downloaded it and it doesn't slow down my system.

[SQUIDMAN]

I also run, "SpybotS&D" it finds stuff AVG misses. Also don't like it's tea timer software. Run Iorbits AV and realtime scanner. Also Mircosofts AV Software.

[Carol Haynes]

Is Spybot still updated - the software has been at v. 1.6.2 for years

[J-Mac]

Carol, I once used Norton back when not much else was available. (Remember then?!) Then I stopped using it for everything when they changed Norton SystemWorks from a fairly light utilities package to a massive (in size), intrusive, multi-headed beast. I believe that the last year I had that installed was around 2001 or 2002. I believe it was the 2004 version that it really bloated up and became a monster - to me anyway.

Regarding Anti-Virus, I had settled on using NOD32 for a number of years but finally gave up on them. They pushed me endlessly to go with their System Security or whatever their all-in-one "solution" is called instead of using just the AV as I do. Also, when I got up to five licenses and was going crazy with five different expiration dates they refused to let me combine all five into one license. Eset doesn’t give you any warning when a license is expiring; it is up to you to keep looking at the expiration date on their UI - or at least that's how it was at the time. I set up reminders of my own to remind me when to renew, but it just became a pain for no good reason. I finally quit on them last year and tried MSE. MSE isn't terrible and it has the benefit of being free, but you really give up most customization AFAICT. I couldn't setup the exclusions I wanted and after losing my Nirsift stuff for about the fourth time I unloaded MSE. I finally decided to try a year of Norton AV - just the AV and not the full security package - and found it to be a decent surprise. The installation was done literally in seconds and didn't require a restart, which surprised me. And during the past year it has run quietly in the background, allows me a lot of latitude in customization, and does its scanning automatically only when the computer is idle. I do know that upgrading an existing license is still prohibitive with Symantec! That hasn’t changed! However it is easy enough to purchase another new license at Amazon or Newegg and then just enter the new key and the subscription is extended for that period - one, two, or three years or more depending on what you purchase.

So even though I too had sworn off Norton products at one time, this one is welcome to stay until it does something deserving of banishment again. 

Thanks!

Jim

[f0dder]

On my own machine, I exclusively use MSE... but I don't have Flash, Java or AdobePDF in my main browser, and I've got AdBlockPlus and NoScript activated. When I need flash, I fire up Chrome, when I need Java I fire up a virtual machine. Very little inconvenience compared to the massively reduced attack vectors.

I've had better success with MSE (detection as well as cleaning) than Avast and Avira. Kaspersky and NOD32 used to be decent products, but dunno - ditched them because they became too heavy on system resources, and NOD32's web protection gave BSODs. And the whole AV industry seems more and more like an extortion scheme... and the programs are bloated and suck.

But apparently other less responsible people need something more than MSE - I just had to clean up a truckload of toolbars and malware from two of my brothers' machines, including Ukash and whatnot. ComboFix and MalwareBytes took care of that.

[Curt]

I have Norton Internet Security. Recently purchase Spyware Doctor. It's hogging my Windows 8 Pro. Just uninstalled it. Now want a good anti-spyware. Commercial ones will do as well. Which one to choose?

It has been several years since the last time I tested security programs in general, because I am so pleased with my Outpost Security Center. Now available for Windows 8, also with extended HIPS for 64-bit. Until new-year you can even have it with a genuine lifetime key for the normal price of just one year's license!

http://agnitumblog.blogspot.co.il/2012/12/outpost-8-and-updates-for-life.html

The story has already been posted another place or two on DonationCoder's, but here it is even more relevant:

Monday, December 17, 2012
Try Outpost 8 and enjoy unlimited product updates for life
To celebrate the brand-new Outpost 8, Agnitum unveils a once-in-a-lifetime offer!

Get a perpetual license for Outpost Security Suite or Outpost Firewall Pro on 3 PCs for the price of a 1 year license. So you get unlimited updates and support for just $59.95 or $39.95, respectively.

A lifetime license means you pay just once and enjoy antivirus updates for as long as you use the product. Take advantage of this offer, get protected now and forever, and forget about annual renewals!

But don’t delay! The deadline is December 31, 2012.

As a reminder, these seasonal gifts are in celebration of a brand-new product line with a new exciting look, extended compatibility, and some handy new features.

Outpost 8 offers:

   Totally reworked and more intuitive user interface
   Full Windows 8 support
   Extended HIPS for Outpost 64-bit versions

http://www.agnitum.com/products/

[Darwin]

<Darwin sheepishly raises his hand  > Earlier in the year, MSE flat out broke on my system (running Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit at the time) and I searched around for alternatives. I settled on Norton Antivirus and have been very pleased with it. It's lightweight (this is a relative term in 2012) and non-intrusive. Agnitum's lifetime license may be a solid alternative, though. I'll have to take a look at it.

Backstory: I swore off Norton/Symantec and McAfee years ago (like J-Mac, around the turn of the century. Ooh... just writing that makes me feel old) and vowed never to install either again. Yet here I am...

Right, off to peruse the reviews o Agnitum!

[Darwin]

*Added in Edit*:

Norton Antivirus 2012/3 includes Antispyware protection. Why is/was BCHOWDHURY looking for another A/S package to run on top of it?

Well... after checking my license for Norton, I'll stick. It's good through April 2015 AND it caught a virus while I was researching Agnitum (not Agnitum's fault - it was a site purportedly about the built-in firewall in Windows . So I'm good for now and will revisit all this in 2015. I'm sure that similar deals will be available in the future... Awesome to get a lifetime license for a security suite, though. Even if they use a fluid interpretation of lifetime and the licensing only last for a couple of years, one would still be ahead of the game.

Anyway, this is symptomatic of my new approach - don't buy it until you need it! BTW, Symantec has four processes running on my computer using a combined total of 0% CPU and 19 MB of RAM. Not too bad in my books...

[J-Mac]

Darwin!! Long time, no see dude!

BTW, you will want to purchase another new license for Norton AV when your current one expires, rather than renewing. Norton is still in the "kill 'em with the renewal pricing" mode. If you purchase Norton AV anew - packaged or downloaded - you just have to enter the new license/serial code and it will show the new expiration date. Or if it is a whole new version just install it over the current and the license is updated.

Jim

E.g. - I have a license for Norton Antivirus 2012, 1 user, 3 PCs. Symantec would like me to renew the license and upgrade to NAV 2013 at $44.99 per PC for 1 year each! That would be $134.97. I just purchased a new license from Amazon for NAV 2013, 1 user, 3 PCs for $17.99 total! Downloadable too! I am told on their forum that if I contact Symantec Support they will offer a discount, but how the hell much could they discount it? Surely not enough to match $17.99!

Jim

[flamerz]

Thanks for suggestions. Tried both Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware. Finally decided to go for SuperAntiSpyware. It has a life-time license.

how to get the lifetime license, still avaliable?

[mwb1100]

Thanks for suggestions. Tried both Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware. Finally decided to go for SuperAntiSpyware. It has a life-time license.

how to get the lifetime license, still avaliable?

Lifetime licenses for SuperAntiSpyware are apparently no longer available:

We currently do not offer new lifetime licenses; As of mid-2011, all new licenses are 1-year.

[flamerz]

then i'll continue with my mbam

[J-Mac]

then i'll continue with my mbam

Which also is a lifetime license if you purchase it. 

Jim

[Darwin]

Darwin!! Long time, no see dude!

BTW, you will want to purchase another new license for Norton AV when your current one expires, rather than renewing. Norton is still in the "kill 'em with the renewal pricing" mode. If you purchase Norton AV anew - packaged or downloaded - you just have to enter the new license/serial code and it will show the new expiration date. Or if it is a whole new version just install it over the current and the license is updated.

Jim

E.g. - I have a license for Norton Antivirus 2012, 1 user, 3 PCs. Symantec would like me to renew the license and upgrade to NAV 2013 at $44.99 per PC for 1 year each! That would be $134.97. I just purchased a new license from Amazon for NAV 2013, 1 user, 3 PCs for $17.99 total! Downloadable too! I am told on their forum that if I contact Symantec Support they will offer a discount, but how the hell much could they discount it? Surely not enough to match $17.99!

Jim

Hi Jim - nice to be back around here! I have been monitoring DC from the shadows for the past 18 months or so, but haven't been posting much. Anyway, thank you for the tip about Norton. Like you (and I didn't fully read your first post before posting myself), I purchased the AV only version and have really been impressed with the performance. What a contrast to circa 2003 or so! Unless they mess up Norton AV in the next couple of years, I'll be taking your advice in 2015!