Best Programs for Removing Spyware

Unlike alot of reviewers, I'm not just some guy that downloaded a bunch of programs and ran them for 5 minutes. I actually worked in a PC repair shop for over five years, and I saw alot of computers come in with spyware. Their owners suspected everything from driver issues, bad video cards and worse. Many were surprise how to treat it themselves. The result? Unnecessary repair bills, slowdown - oh, and how about all that credit card info on your hard drive? Passwords...banking information...all susceptible to theft unless you have a good anti-spyware program on your computer. You can wait until a repair shop takes it off - but that could be long after the damage is done.

So I strongly recommend: get an anti-spyware program on your computer. I can't recommend this enough. I will review all the Top 5 popular anti-spyware programs here and show you what I have found to be the best.

#5 - Ease of use - This is almost always overlooked. Sure alot of programs have some strong features - but what good are they if you don't know how to use them? The best programs make it easy for even the beginner to set up. They should run scans automatically, and provide an easy to understand display, but still provide enough options for the advanced user.

#4 - Prevent homepage hijacking - Homepage hijacking is the changing of your homepage, usually to a malicious site that the spyware author wants your computer to go to everytime you go online. Most - but not all - programs are equipped with hijack-blockers.

#3 - Keylogger blocking - Keyloggers are just nasty. These are a form of spyware that record every keystroke you make on your computer. This includes, of course, email passwords, credit card numbers, and every other bit of personal data you type out. A solid program will pick up on these programs and zap them.

#2 - Stop Drive-by Downloads - Drive by downloads are malicious programs that your computer loads without you knowing it - usually by visiting a website that installs the program the minute you come to it. How are we supposed to know what these websites are? We don't, quite simply. Better programs will include a good drive-by stopper.

#1 - Spyware detection - Obviously, this is the bottom line: how well does this program detect and destroy spyware that gets on my computer? No two programs are alike, as all contain different definition files. The only way to tell the best from the rest is to try and compare. Well, save the money and let a pro do it for you. The top 5 programs that I review here all do a great job in this area.

NoAdware rated significantly high in detection and elimination of spyware in our testing. It had the "set and forget" option mentioned above - it's simple to set up to scan your PC on a set schedule, and you let it do all the work. Also features drive-by installation blocking - a necessary standard in today's antispyware. The best part is the user interface: very easy to understand - it's not the fanciest graphical display - but NoAdware will do the job and is a solid program, especially for the beginner.

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The name says "Adware" - a slightly different pest, that usually involves those pesky popups that you get on your PC. However, AdWare Alert showed good results in detecting spyware as well, and had a decent, easy to understand interface. I did not notice a keylogger blocker on it. If you notice more of those annoying popup ads than anything on your PC and don't need anything super heavy for spyware, AdWare Alert is a good recommendation for you.

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Spyware Nuker is an "all-around" program for PCs that need solid preventative maintenance. As you can see in the screenshot, the interface is very basic and clear. In our tests, it was decent in detection, ranking 3rd overall in picking up spyware on our test machines. We did notice that it did not pick up a couple of trojan worms on our more severely afflicted test PC. Overall, it did get rid most of the common pests. If you need the strongest protection, go for one of the top 2. For a good value, especially for keeping spyware off of your PC rather than removing it, Spyware Nuker is a decent choice.

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Want to know an insider secret? This little gem is actually the program alot of my "tekky" colleagues use to clean spyware off PCs. Spyware Remover is a complete anti-spyware, with a hijack blocker, keylogger eliminator, and excellent detection. It was a hard decision between Spyzooka and Spyware Cease, but I'll make this recommendation: if you don't go online much, and haven't had too many problems with your PC, go for Spyware Remover. If you have suspect that you have gotten some pretty bad infections in the past, or you do alot of music downloading, emailing, or instant messaging, go for Spyware Cease. We've tested both several times and they will both help keep your PC safe, sane and out of the repair shop.

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Clean interface, solid protection, and excellent detection: we found Spyware Cease was the #1 software we tested overall. It featured a built in anti-hijacker, keylogger protector, easy to set auto-scanner, homepage protector, and many more bells & whistles, too many to list here. Along with Spyzooka, this is the most complete anti-spyware program on the market. A brief note: this is the real deal. If you don't need all the features (and there are plenty of them - check them all out here), then go for the slightly more basic Spyzooka. Otherwise, if you want the best overall protection, this is your baby.

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