Q: What is the Best Anti-Spyware?
A: Spyware and Malware has become a huge problem
that you must not ignore. There is just too much profit in it
for the bad guys. You must be agressive
in defending yourself and your computer. (I will use
the term "spyware" to refer to adware,
spyware, malware, and rootkits.)
You should have only ONE anti-virus program on your
computer, due to potential system conflicts and false
positives. However, it is perfectly acceptable to
have more than one anti-spyware program. The important
thing is to make sure that you are running only one "system
scan" at a time. Therefore, do not manually run an
anti-spyware scan at the same time any other anti-virus or
anti-spyware program, and if you have updated to pro versions
that allow you to schedule scans, be sure to schedule them far
enough apart so as to allow one to finish before the other
begins.
I currently load the following programs to protect against
spyware:
Spyware Blaster - Think of Spyware
Blaster as you would getting your flu shot. Rather
than scanning after the fact, Spyware Blaster focuses on
prevention by doing the following:
- Prevents the installation of ActiveX-based spyware and
other potentially unwanted programs.
- Blocks spying / tracking via cookies.
- Restricts the actions of potentially unwanted or
dangerous web sites.
Once installed, just download the latest updates and then
"apply all protection". Spyware Blaster will install
protection from thousands of known spyware programs. Once
you quit, it removes itself from memory, but the protection
remains. You do need to manually update and install
the latest protection on a weekly basis to stay updated, or pay
$9.95 to upgrade to the pro version.
MalwareBytes Anti-Malware - After years
of recommending other anti-spyware programs, I have now
become a MalwareBytes convert. It scans fast and does
a surprisingly good job of removing the bad stuff. I
also like the fact that they are quick to implement updates
when new malware comes on the scene. Like Spyware
Blaster, you get complete protection for free, and
activating ($24.95 in this case) the full version unlocks
realtime protection, scheduled scanning, and scheduled
updating.
Do you have an anti-spyware program
that you love? Let me
know!
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