We put the two top contenders in the spyware-shredding category head to head. Which one will leave your PC with that sparkly-fresh 'new pc' feeling?

It's a sad fact of existence that it's virtually impossible to surf the web and install software without potentially running afoul of some form of spyware. There are plenty of programs out there that are quite upfront about the inclusion of spyware; you'll be warned about the inclusion of other programs -- and often given the option not to install them -- as part of the standard installation process.

Other programs, however, are sneakier, and place the warnings as part of the EULA that virtually every user ignores in any case. Thus it's quite easy to end up with a system that can be sending all sorts of private information to third parties without you being aware of it. Other packages will insert popup advertising right when you don't want it -- which for most of us is all of the time.

Part of the solution is simple, but time consuming -- read everything. If you've got the time to go through every every scrap of text and every EULA while maintaining an extremely vigilant firewall, then you should be able to stop most incursions. For those of us with limited time, however, there are software options out there that make the removal of spyware a lot simpler. We've taken the two top contenders in the field head to head to find a spyware shredding champion.

Lavasoft Ad-aware Standard Edition 6.0
Lavasoft's free spyware utility does a decent job, but you'll need to spend money on the professional edition in order to match the functionality of Spybot.

PepiMK Spybot Search and Destroy
Spybot blows venerable Ad-aware out of the water when it comes to protecting you against ad-serving software.

Lavasoft Ad-aware Standard Edition 6.0

Venerable Ad-aware has gone corporate, with a stylish new Web site and a steep pricing structure to match. The makers of Ad-aware have become so complacent about their spot at the top of the ad-blocking food chain that they've adopted the rather cavalier motto: "Ad-aware, the morning-after pill for the Internet." While the free version, Ad-aware Standard Edition, remains successfully focused on removing ad-serving software from your registry, that's about all it does.

Ad-aware Standard Edition 6.0 is no match for the newly released, feature-rich, and free Spybot Search and Destroy, which includes a secure file shredder and a way to opt out of junk mail. If you want the ability to stop pop-up ads, Trojan horses, and other maladies of the Internet--tasks that Spybot handles just fine for free--you'll need to spend US$40 for the Ad-aware Professional 6.0 version. Your best bet: save the US$40 and get Spybot for free.

The free version of 6.0 is available only as a 1.45MB download. After an easy installation, the new version of Ad-aware keeps its familiar and intuitive interface. To begin scanning your hard drive, for example, simply click the Start button, and Ad-aware will scan your hard drive and registry looking for advertising-related spy programs. You can customize its scan by selecting additional drives, and/or excluding registry items. Unlike Spybot, which required us to first check for product updates, then confirm our settings, then figure out how to start the darn thing, Ad-aware is ready to remove ad-serving software from your PC right away.

Unfortunately, not all of Ad-aware is so easy to understand. The function, for instance, of the Quarantine button and icon on the interface is unclear. Here's the scoop: Ad-aware automatically creates a quarantine file, which contains apps that the program has removed from your PC, each time you complete the scanning process. The Quarantine feature is helpful only if you want to restore a previously deleted ad-serving software program, should you discover that another software app is dependent on it. Spybot at least warns you that removing ad-serving software could impair freeware apps that you may have installed, while Ad-aware does not.

Compared to feature-rich Spybot, Ad-aware Standard Edition offers very few tools. Unlike Spybot, Ad-aware lacks a shredder to securely delete your files, nor does it offer additional-information pop-up windows to explain each ad-serving software app that it finds. There is no listing of company opt-out e-mail address to stop the flow of junk mail associated with ad-serving software vendors. What you see in Ad-aware Standard Edition is what you get--it's a program to hunt down ad-serving software on your hard drive, and that's all.

The Status button on Ad-aware's left-hand navigation bar shows the date of your last update and the number of objects that Ad-aware has quarantined on your PC. Under the Scan Now button, the free version allows you to customize only a few of the settings (most of which are dimmed in favor of the paid version). While you can get quite granular on which files you'd like the software to scan, you'll also grow annoyed at the range of useful options that are inaccessible to you, such as the ability to remove known advertising URLs added without your permission to your Internet Explorer Favorites list.

Even worse, Ad-aware's best feature, AdWatch, which stops pop-ups from invading your computer, is unavailable in the Standard Edition. Although you can still find information about it in the help file, clicking its icon or button will only display a message that asks you to upgrade for this feature. In general, we don't like this form of advertising.

Lavasoft, which makes Ad-aware and is located in Sweden, offers a more detailed and complete help file for Ad-aware than PepiMK Software does for its Spybot product. However, most of the detailed items in the Ad-aware help file are for features that are not available in the free version.

Also, a few items within Ad-aware's help file simply default to Ad-aware's main Welcome page. The Web site includes FAQs, but most of them advertise the features found in the paid version. You'll find an online help forum and e-mail-based technical support, but be warned: our technical-support test question went unanswered for several days.

Lavasoft Ad-aware Standard Edition 6.0
Company: Lavasoft
Price: Free for download, Professional Edition US$40 via download only

PepiMK Spybot Search and Destroy

For years, removing ad-serving software (often called adware or spyware) from your desktop has been the job of one product: Ad-aware by Lavasoft. But there's a new game in town. PepiMK Software's Spybot offers a wealth of useful features that, frankly, should send Lavasoft back to the drawing board.

Spybot delivers useful tools such as an e-mail list of opt-out addresses to stop unwanted solicitations and a file shredder to securely overwrite unwanted files deleted from your PC--all of which Ad-aware Standard Edition lacks. Best of all, Spybot does it all for free. For protection against ad-serving software, Trojan horses, and other means of tracking your surfing habits, get Spybot immediately.

Spybot Search and Destroy is available only as a free 2.31MB download; there's no boxed version. The program installs in a flash and automatically places an icon on your desktop for quick access.

Before starting, there's a legal disclaimer that says if you remove advertising robots (or spybots) from your computer with Spybot, you may not be able to continue using the host program. Chances are, if you download a freeware product, the end-user license agreement says that you agree to the advertising placed on your computer as a result. Removing it with Spybot may make the freeware unusable. Although the two products do basically the same thing, this disclaimer is missing from Ad-aware.

Spybot's interface itself is straightforward: buttons along the left side allow access to Spybot's many features, while the large main section provides details, such as the individual languages available or the results of a spybot search of your hard drive. When you launch the program after installation, you'll be reminded to update the program for the latest version.

Next, Spybot opens to a settings screen that offers a variety of choices--such as removing cookies, Trojan horses, and usage tracking--without a wizard to assist the end user. Also, the overall terminology is a little confusing at first; for example, to run Spybot's various scans, you must click a button that says Check For Problems (instead of the more intuitive Start).
While Spybot Search and Destroy is running, a countdown clock in the lower right-hand corner first estimates the duration of the scan, then counts down to completion.

When Spybot finishes scanning for suspected ad-serving software and other Internet maladies, it produces a listing with a check box beside each item to remove or keep it. Unsure how to proceed? Simply click an item for a detailed explanation of what it is, what company issued the item, and a recommendation from Spybot. Better yet, if you decide to keep the ad component on your computer, you also have the option to exclude it from future searches.

Moving down the left-hand navigation, the Settings button accesses language, file sets, directories, and skins. Unlike Ad-aware, Spybot Search and Destroy has the option to run in one of 25 languages, including Magyar and two dialects of Russian. The file sets detail all of the functions that Spybot can perform, such as checking for Trojan horses or usage tracking.

For safety, though, you'll want to keep them all enabled and override the search results from time to time. Settings are the options that you are presented with the first time you load Spybot, but they won't make sense until you've run the program on your computer a few times. For example, you may decide you want to run Spybot every time you reboot your computer or you might want to speed up its scanning to the fastest-possible setting.

The Directories tool allows you to specify your download directory path so that Spybot will always check freshly downloaded files for spying software (often found with freeware and some shareware). The Skins option allows you to change the look and feel of Spybot, although at the moment there are few options available in English.

Click the Excludes button, and you'll find tabbed settings that let you block cookies, dialers, hijackers, keyloggers (keystroke-logging software), malware (such as the Friendly Greetings e-mail), and Trojan horses (such as Klez, Sobig, and Benjamin). For example, under Cookies, you'll find a current list of cookies on your PC, with an option to delete them. The free version of Ad-aware does not do this.

From within the Tools button, you'll find a file shredder, which allows you to delete a file safely from your computer by overwriting it with random data from 1 to 99 times. There's also a list of ActiveX components, which are scripts, specific to your computer, that run within Internet Explorer. Spybot will generate a very detailed list of ActiveX components currently installed on your machine, which provides you with details but no option to remove them. The process list replicates information that the Windows Task Menu shows you, and System Startup shows you what's running when you start Windows. Finally, there's a handy Report feature to see all of the above in either a log file or a printout.

The coolest option in Spybot lies within the Online button, where you'll find a list of opt-out e-mail addresses that should stop you from getting solicitations from ad vendors. Spybot's list includes just about everyone, from DoubleClick to Yahoo; this list alone is a valuable asset on any PC. Double-click any of the names, and a blank e-mail message opens, with the company's opt-out address autoamtically filled in, making it easy to untangle yourself from the mess of junk mail associated with ad-serving software. Within the Online button, there are options to update Spybot, access the company's Web site for the latest product news, or file a bug report with the author.

PepiMK Software is based in Germany. The Spybot site offers e-mail support, but our test e-mail was never answered. Although Spybot was developed and is maintained by only one person, the help file is nevertheless pretty complete. Also, the Web site contains a basic FAQ. While there are a few undocumented features in Spybot Search and Destroy, there are a great many useful tools here that are quite self-explanatory.

PepiMK Spybot Search and Destroy
Company: PepiMK
Price: Free via download

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