BlackBlade's Security Review

[BlackBlade]

Anti-Malware Programs

I reviewed the following Anti-Malware programs (in no particular order)

• Spybot Search and Destroy
• Lavasoft Ad-Aware Free/Pro
• Webroot Spy Sweeper
• Spyware Terminator
• Microsoft Windows Defender
• AVG Anti-Spyware Free Edition
• PC Tools Spyware Doctor
• Ashampoo AntiSpyWare

Just so everyone is on the same page, for the purpose of this review, anti-malware programs are programs, other than anti-virus programs, that protect your computer from different levels of “badware”. These include spyware, adware, key loggers, dialers, Trojans, etc. This is not simply an “Anti-Spyware” review because todays' programs need to do more than just protect against spyware.


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Spybot Search and Destroy – This program is one of the more popular free anti-malware alternatives. The team behind this program constantly pushes updates and upgrades all the time. Reciently, they have built in an anti-rootkit system into Spybot. This program also has permanent browser cookie blocker to keep the badware off of the computer in the first place.


Lavasoft Ad-Aware Free/Pro – Another popular piece of anti-malware programs is Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. Lavasoft runs a free crippled version of Ad-Aware to the general public, but the free version has the same scanning power as the paid version. They also offer frequent updates and a reporting system.


Webroot Spy Sweeper – This piece of software constantly receives high praise for its' disinfecting abilities. The software is not free, but Webroot bundles some nice support within the software. There are constant updates to the malware database to ensure that the system stays as protected as possible.


Spyware Terminator – A free anti-malware program, Spyware Terminator contains many tools that are more commonly found in paid-for programs such as immunization, automatic updates, anti-virus integration, system restores, real time protection, and more. This program comes with ClamAV, an Open Source anti-virus program that I reviewed above.


Microsoft Windows Defender – Another free anti-malware program, this time from Microsoft. Windows Defender comes natively with all Vista installs and can be downloaded for use on XP through their “Genuine” copy service. This app integrates into the Windows OS to provide native support.


AVG Anti-Spyware Free Edition – This product no longer exists. That's right, from the time of my review to the time of my written results this product was removed. However, it is not gone entirely. AVG Anti-Virus now also contains the same anti-malware protection as AVG Anti-Spyware did. The products are now one and the same. Thus, I shall not post my review for this product because it no longer exists in the form that I tested it.


PC Tools Spyware Doctor – The doctor is in! PC Tools, the site that likes to make the “everyone-should-have-one-of-these” software has their own anti-spyware tool called Spyware Doctor. Through its past, Spyware Doctor went from being totally free, to scan-for-free, to its weird mix of free scaning and crippled updating, unless you buy the full version. Nonetheless, it is one of the popular anti-malware tools so just how well does it stack up?


Ashampoo AntiSpyWare- I must say, this company has an interesting name. And I just love their slogan: “We make software!”. All bathroom jokes aside, Ashampoo's AnitSpyWare is a heavy contender on Download.com. It has a diverse community and company surrounding it, so we can only take to the results to see how well it does.




Onto the review!!