Spyware, Adware, or the more politically correct term, malware is one of the leading causes of errors and malicious pop-ups, and slow downs on many systems. You may have seen ads for Spyware removal tools priced for as much as $50.00. You might be surprised to know that the best removal tools used by IT professionals don't cost a dime.
Even after Symantec, Trend Micro, Mcafee, and other antivrus tools added anti-spyware to there system suites spyware remained. Even Micrsoft has been working on its own sellable tool "Windows Defender". (Currently free but only for a short time.)
Which is better? Well that is a matter of debate. The tools most IT professionals use aren't any of these. The top two tools are AD-AWARE by lavasoft and Spybot Search and distroy
The tools they use are free and available to anyone. Two of the most popular tools are AD-AWARE and Spybot Search & Destroy by safer-networking.org. These tools are constantly updated, find, immunize and remove most spyware. Best of all they are free to download.
Beware: These tools do remove entries that might interfear or disable other programs based on dependancies. Tools like Kazaa and some downloadable games require certian spyware products to function. It is also possible to remove entries that might effect your systems performance. This is why we reccomend using AD-Aware first because of its easy wizard interface.
Spybot Search & Destroy is a more complicated tool and should only be used if you understand what you are doing. (For advanced users only!) This tool can be found at: http://www.safer-networking.org/
