3.2  No Single Spyware Remover
Can Prevent Everything

Unfortunately, as good as any of the following programs are, no single tool can prevent every single spyware, adware, Trojan horse, virus, worm, etc.

Without question, there are some great tools out there, but every program works a bit differently and detects a different range of spyware and adware. 

What this means for you is that your best spyware defense is to have multiple forms of protections. You should download at least two free spyware removal programs such as Adaware and Spybot Search and Destroy, and -if you have the means–buy at least one of the spyware removers like Spy Sweeper or Max Spyware Detector. All of this is in addition to your virus and firewall protection, of course.

Free Spyware removers

Since spyware is a big problem, it’s fortunate that we have several effective spyware removal tools available to us at zero cost. That’s right, you can have a world class spyware remover for free. 

In my opinion, the two best free programs are Adware and SpyBot Search & Destroy. These two programs have been around since the very early days of spyware. They are effective and accurate when it comes to detection and removal of spyware and adware. 

If you think you have a spyware problem, you should down load both of these free programs and scan your computer. If these scanners fail to correct your problems, you should consider one of the many paid spyware removers which are available on the market. 

Paid spyware removers

Usually the free spyware solutions are all you need, but sometimes you’ll have a strain of spyware that needs a different tool.

You could have three different programs on your machine and only one of them might actually detect and remove a specific instance of spyware. That’s why it’s a good idea to have at least two spyware removal programs on your computer so you can increase your chances of rounding up the majority of spyware lurking on your computer. 

Customer support is another benefit of purchasing a spyware removal solution. If you ever find yourself with a spyware problem that will not go away, you are more likely to receive personal support through a paid company rather than one that supplies their service for free. In addition to better support you can usually expect more frequent updates to the spyware definition database from paid programs than free programs.  

So what are you paying for that the free companies can’t give you – other than customer support, that is?  Combating spyware is a technical and time consuming project. It takes highly qualified people with specialized knowledge of the inner workings of your computer operating system to research, test, and implement new spyware detection rules.

When you buy a spyware remover application, you are actually paying for their expertise, the underlying database and the maintenance.

False Positives

Not every spyware remover, free or not, is reliable. In fact, many are complete junk. Spyware detection and removal is a very lucrative business (although not as much as spyware companies themselves) and spyware removers are flooding the market in an attempt to cash in on the spyware epidemic and on unsuspecting consumers.

These applications often rely on an out-of-date and ineffective spyware detection database purchased for a few thousand dollars. In the end, they offer little in the way of support. Some of these programs even “detect” spyware that is not on your computer in an attempt to get you to purchase their program. 

These “ghost” or non existent spyware infections are called “false positives.” 

However, just as not all internet cookies are a bad thing, not all false positives are intentional and aimed at misleading you. What you really have are two types of false positives.

The first type is intentional and meant to lure you into purchasing a product because you are afraid that your computer is infected with spyware.

The second arises as a result of how the spyware definition database is set up to detect specific spyware infections. That said, even though some false positives are not deliberate, they are a serious issue because they can lead you to delete a legitimate system or program file necessary to operate you computer and programs.  

The good news is that the best programs have very few problems with false positives because they rigorously test their updates before releasing them to the public to minimize any chance of false detections and removals of legitimate files and programs. 

<< Chapter 3.1 - Picking a Good Spyware Remover | Chapter 3.3 - Create a System Restore Point >>