Free Spyware Removal Software?

[Drew.Gardonia]

Are there any good free spyware removal tools out there?

I do a search online and all I seem to find is links to one's that tell you it's free but it's really not and want you to pay for something.

 

[Chris Strahan]

go to www.download.com. look for top 10 download list on right of page.
look for Malwarebytes.
It is one of the best ones out there and it is free.

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

thanks Chris, much appreciated.

 

[Allan Jeffers]

I am using spybot: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

One name: "Malwarebytes" (google it)

The choice of software writers in Silicon Valley...

 

[Patrick Romans]

I use the Trend Micro Housecall free online scan. It can be slow depending on the number of files you scan

 

[James Langford]

There are a number of steps I do to setup a new computer, and or fix a spyware/virus problem.

1) Setup a hosts file to block about 95% of the stuff out there:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

This is a very easy, and very useful thing to do. It blocks just about all advertising and popups in your browser by redirecting the request to your local machine. There are instructions on the site.

2) Setup Open DNS
http://www.opendns.com/

You have to be a little technically savvy to do this, but it is great. Similar to number 1. They have a free account option.

3) Install Microsoft Security Essentials if you are on Windows
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Great application, and free.

4) Use MalWareBytes if you have an active spyware/virus problem.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

Once you install the free version, run a full scan. It will take a while, but should clean up anything there.

I usually stay away from Norton and McAfee, as I find the software almost as bad as the virus. They introduce tons of overhead, are expensive and don't like to uninstall cleanly at all.

Good luck!

James

 

[Jarrod Barnett]

I use Avast Free and Malwarebytes. Have used them both for years and have to say both are great programs.

 

[Darren Addy]

Yep: MBAM (malwarebytes).
The free version is excellent and it is one program that I would pay the $29 (or whatever it is now) to turn on the Realtime Protection (as opposed to scanning regularly or after there is a problem).

 

[John Erwin]

Another vote for Malwarebytes.. I've run this head to head with other solutions and found it's performance to be superior.

 

[Andrew Stoller]

Superantispyware is another good free scanner.

If you want to end all malware problems for good, download www.sandboxie.com and learn how to use it.

 

[Adam Lucio]

I use Avast Free and Malwarebytes. Have used them both for years and have to say both are great programs.

These are also the 2 that I use. Both work very well.

 

[Rob H]

• Common Sense 2.0
• Virtually any browser that isn't IE6
• Firefox + Adblock Plus + NoScript
• Regular backups so nothing is lost if your computer takes a dive

Seriously, an ounce of prevention.. yadda, yadda, yadda. If you need something more powerful than the tools in this thread, try HijackThis and Sysinternals AutoRuns. These programs can mess up your computer if you don't know what you're doing, however.

Norton, McAfee, etc. are literally junk software that nag you into continuing to pay them and bog your computer down.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I'll second James' suggestion for Security Essentials:
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Its lightweight and unobtrusive so it can do its job in the background without getting in your way or the computer's way. It hasn't really snagged anything on my machine, but it does a great job catchign things from the reviews I've read.

I used to not run a virus scanner for years, and never really had a problem since I was just careful about what programs I ran and from where I was getting stuff. The virus scanners from years ago used to cause huge performance hits on my machine so I didn't even bother with them. Security Essentials, however, is so lightweight I don't even notice it.

Another thing I've noticed is Microsoft has seriously stepped up in patching all the holes and exploits in their operating systems. I remember Windows 95 and 98 would just become cesspools for spyware and other crap, but since Vista and 7 have been released (and I'm sure better web browsers as well), I haven't noticed much of a problem with it at all.