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.
i have an old version of Spybot and it works like a dream but all it displays is what it's filtering out in about a minute thirty it blinks then its done is this right?