The Setup

We tested all of the software on a Windows XP machine that was purposely infected with spyware. Fortunately for antispyware users, that series of tests turned out to be dull—all of the scanning packages were able to detect and eliminate all of the critical threats thrown at them and varied only slightly in detecting various non-critical threats such as tracking cookies.

In a second round of tests, we ran the software on a Vista machine. This PC had a typical combination of antispyware installed, including Spyware Blaster, Windows Defender, and Spybot Search & Destroy, so we tested to see if the other software would find anything those freeware apps missed. We include Microsoft’s Windows Defender in our chart as a point of comparison for the other applications we reviewed. Once again, the objective tests ended up as a yawn-fest: With few exceptions, the products varied only in the number of cookies they flagged as potential threats. The programs do vary significantly in terms of their interfaces, update methods, and other features, and a few packages emerged as clear leaders relative to the pack.

Ad-Aware 2007 Free

Ad-Aware 2007 Free
Lavasoft
Free; $26.95 Plus version
www.lavasoftusa.com
CPUs: 3.5

Ad-Aware has always been a solid performer, and now that it is wrapped in a shiny new interface and incorporates some scanning engine updates, it’s even better. The freeware version we tested does not have real-time protection, although that can be added by upgrading to the Plus or Pro versions. It does support automatic updates for the scanning engine, which is very thorough. The software does a good job of dividing its findings into a Critical Objects category vs. a Privacy Objects category so that benign cookies are not flagged as major threats. Scans can only be scheduled in the Plus and Pro versions, so if you decide to use Ad-Aware, we recommend upgrading to a commercial version, as there are other freeware utilities available that have much better features.

CounterSpy

CounterSpy
Sunbelt Software
$20 for the first year; $15 per year thereafter
www.sunbelt-software.com
CPUs: 3

CounterSpy looked great out of the gate but was ultimately lapped by some of the other programs in terms of usability. It has a nice interface that is packed with customization options and incorporates a scanning engine that didn’t miss a beat during testing. Its main problem turned out to be an oversensitive active protection monitor, which popped up frequently with warnings that were difficult or impossible to dismiss. In most cases, telling the software to allow a certain program to change a Registry entry required several clicks, and when our GameTap gaming application tried to update itself, CounterSpy wouldn’t let us dismiss the active protection warning at all. We had to shut down CounterSpy completely before GameTap could continue. This Chicken Little behavior is unacceptable—especially for expert users who know which programs are safe to add to a whitelist.

Spybot Search & Destroy

Spybot Search & Destroy
Patrick M. Kolla
Free
www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
CPUs: 4

Much like Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D has been a go-to freeware antispyware package for years now, but it’s in serious need of an update. The real-time protection still works wonderfully, and the scanner catches all major threats without spitting out many false positives, but the interface makes it a chore to use. Auto updates and automatic scans are not supported, which is off-putting considering freeware packages such as Spyware Terminator now support those features. Of course, power users may prefer to do things by hand so that the software isn’t spiking CPU usage at a critical time. Overall, this is still a good program as long as you remember to regularly update it and run scans manually, but there are better options if you want a superior interface and better features.

Spy Sweeper

Spy Sweeper
Webroot Software
$29.95 for one-year subscription
www.webroot.com
CPUs: 4.5

Aside from some sporadic performance issues, Spy Sweeper turned out to be one of the best commercial antispyware packages tested. The scanning engine does a thorough job, the real-time protection pops up only when necessary and is easy to manage, the interface is outstanding, and it is highly configurable. It’s one of the few packages in this roundup that has an integrated keylogger detector, although there are plenty of free and commercial standalone keylogger detectors available if you want to augment other programs with this protection.

On our Vista machine, the real-time protection system on average used very few CPU cycles but would occasionally spike to use 50% or more of the CPU. Considering the detection abilities, automation, configurability, and other features this package offers, it would make a great choice for PCs that you want to put on autopilot as far as antispyware is concerned. We recommend testing it out on your main PC to see if it uses fewer resources than it did on ours, because overall, its mix of detection ability, real-time protection, and other features is hard to top.

Spyware Doctor

Spyware Doctor
PC Tools Software
$29.95 for one-year subscription
www.pctools.com
CPUs: 5

It was a close call between Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor for top honors in this roundup, but the nod goes to Spyware Doctor for its slicker interface and outstanding detection abilities. The scanning engine rooted out everything in all of our tests without reporting any false positives, and the real-time protection tools are outstanding. The software can monitor your Web browser, files, network, processes, and startup folder in real time while also detecting keyloggers, which is a task that few other antispyware programs do. It works great after a fresh installation, but there are plenty of options for power users to tinker with that are all arranged very neatly in a Settings tab. Spyware Doctor sets the bar for what a commercial application should be: accurate and powerful enough to please a power user, but simple enough to use that anyone can benefit from it.

Spyware Blaster 3.5.1

Spyware Blaster 3.5.1
Javacool Software
Free; $9.95 per year for an auto-update subscription
www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
CPUs: 4.5

Spyware Blaster is one of the few programs we tested that belongs on every single PC you use, because there are absolutely no performance downsides to consider. That's because it doesn't perform active scans or actively intercept threats, but instead uses a variety of methods to seal off vulnerable areas of the PC so threats can't materialize in the first place. It restricts Internet Explorer from accessing known bad sites, for example, and closes a number of security loopholes that the most prevalent threats use to gain access to the system.

Spyware Blaster should never be used by itself, but instead should work in conjunction with a real-time detection and scanning package to dramatically boost overall security. Get an auto-update subscription and this is one of the few pieces of antispyware software you’ll never have to touch after the initial configuration.

Spyware Terminator

Spyware Terminator
Crawler
Free
www.spywareterminator.com
CPUs: 5

This is an especially robust package considering it’s freeware. Nearly all of the real-time shield settings can be configured separately, allowing for a high degree of customization, and it’s easy to schedule scans for whatever time works best. Best of all, users can enable automatic updates, which is a real rarity with free software, and it’s designed to integrate with the freeware Clam AntiVirus package to provide total antispyware and antivirus protection for your PC.

Both the real-time protection and scanner worked well in testing, remaining unobtrusive while catching all of the threats we threw at it with very few false positives. If you use Clam, this software is a no-brainer, and even if you don’t, it makes a good partner for any free or commercial antispyware you care to pair with it.

STOPzilla

STOPzilla
STOPzilla
$19.95 for one-year subscription (with $20 mail-in rebate)
www.stopzilla.com
CPUs: 3

STOPzilla was a great program back in the days when pop-up blockers weren’t built into every browser (or available for free), but in today’s environment, it lags a bit as an overall antispyware package. Scans took an extremely long time relative to most of the other packages, especially on the Vista machine, where we had to let it run overnight. During initial testing on the Vista PC, the software uncovered more than 100 threats that none of the other packages found, including infections by CoolWebSearch and Zlob.Yu, which are big problems.

In reality, all of these were false positives caused by protective Registry entries established by lock-down programs such as Spyware Blaster. The lock-down programs work partially by adding entries to the Zones section of the Registry, which stores a list of IP addresses and Web sites that are known to host spyware or other malware and restricts Internet Explorer from accessing those places. STOPzilla saw the restricted Web site names in the Registry, flagged each entry as a threat, and requested that we remove them, but in reality, those very settings were designed to protect the PC.

We contacted iS3 about the problem and were told that the software was designed to check the Zones area because certain malware can actually change Internet Explorer's restriction levels, making a site that is blocked become one that is granted full access to the system. Despite this, within 24 hours, the company pushed out an update for STOPzilla that prevents it from scanning the Zones section of the Registry, and the false positives were eliminated. Although the software works better after the update, the scanning speed is still slow enough that there are better commercial alternatives.

Windows Defender

Windows Defender
Microsoft
Free
www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software
CPUs: 4

Windows Defender has a lot going for it. It’s free, automatically updates itself, and runs scans unattended at a time you set. It also doesn’t get in your face with an endless stream of pop-up alerts and false positives that require a lot of attention, even though the real-time detection engine works very well. There aren’t a lot of user-adjustable options, but the user interface does a great job of keeping the options that are there accessible.

The big downside to this package is that is has no ability to detect or remove virus-based spyware, which is some of the nastiest stuff your machine can encounter. The real-time protection does a good job of keeping this type of software off of the computer in the first place, but you’ll definitely want to partner Defender with another antispyware or antivirus package that has a terrific scanning engine to provide complete antispyware protection.

This Porridge Is Too Cold

Ideally, we’d be able to push a button and destroy all rootkits, adware, spyware, keyloggers, and viruses in one fell swoop, while also immunizing the computer against future attacks. Nothing exists that can do that, but there are plenty of good software packages from which to choose.

For best results, use Spyware Blaster for its lockdown capabilities and add two antispyware programs with real-time detection. The ideal mix based on our testing consists of Spyware Blaster, Spyware Doctor, and Spy Sweeper.

The best way to deal with spyware is to prevent it from getting on your PC in the first place, so be sure to use a good pop-up blocker and consider using alternative Web browsers such as Firefox or Opera, as they are far less likely to be targeted by spyware programmers. Throw in a keylogger detector if the PC is in an environment where others can access it, and you should be good to go. At least until the malware programmers develop some new methods of infiltrating our PCs and we have to do this all over again.

View the chart that accompanies this article.
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by Tracy Baker