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Best Free Adware-Spyware-Scumware Remover
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Introduction
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The internet is a dangerous place to be in the 21st century, with many people using increasingly ingenious ways to part you with your hard earned cash, whether it be by exploitation, surreptitiously harvesting your credit card and bank details for their own nefarious purposes, or tempting you to spend money on products and services that you neither need nor want. During the latter years of the 20th century, and the early years of the 21st, Spybot S&D and AdAware were kings, protecting you from all manner of malware that tried to infect your computer with the sole intention of parting you from your wallet. But as technology improves, so do the malware writers, and the kings of yesterday in terms of protection may no longer be up to the job. With every new generation of malware, there will be a new generation of software to combat it, and in my own tests, these are the best free products I recommend. |
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Discussion
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Top of the list is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free (MBAM). MBAM is a top notch and reputable product. A fairly lightweight download (just over 10 MB) and simple installation means this is not a burdensome product. In my testing, even when the PC was severely infected with many nasties running, it started without any problem and scanned and removed those nasties effectively. The interface is very simple, the scans are very fast and detection is first class. A reboot to complete cleaning was still required for some malware, though this is a minor inconvenience, and required by most programs of this type. The only downside is it has no portable version, and if there is no working network connection in the infected PC you won't be able to download the latest virus definition updates. Second is SUPERAntiSpyware (SAS). Once upon a time this was a good product but recent releases have not been up to the mark. The interface is simple, updates are speedy but it still installs a start-up item which doesn't actually do anything at all. The scan speed is twice to thrice that of MBAM and the detection is less than half of it. The removal also left a lot to be desired. It left a few nasties running even when it showed them as removed. SAS also requires a reboot to complete the removal process. The upside is, it has a portable version which will help with the removal of infections from computers without a working network connection. I hope version 5 brings improvements. ~~~~~ Below is the old review which is still going to be updated ~~~~~
Top of the list once again is SuperAntiSpyware, which successfully detected and cleaned 121 threats on my test system. A fairly lightweight download and simple installation (5.99 MB) mean that this is not a burdensome product. If anything the general package whilst aesthetically similar, has improved, managing to detect and clean after a single scan rather than the two scans required previously. A reboot to complete cleaning was still required, though this is a minor inconvenience, and required by most packages. If I had to raise a criticism, it's that the freeware version still installs a start-up item which doesn't actually do anything at all. In the paid version, it loads the always on protection which is not available in the freeware version. This minor annoyance aside, it remains my top recommendation.
Promoted this time to joint second place is Emsisoft Anti Malware free edition, and let me be very clear that it is ONLY the free edition that I am able to recommend. Emsisoft Anti Malware was able to identify just 43 infections; though some of the more serious threats identified by SAS were included in these. If we disregard tracking cookies, then the margins narrow. However, detection rate is only half the battle, and unfortunately EAM was unable to automatically clean some of the more virulent infections found by itself. Nevertheless, it helpfully provides a link to forums for manual removal instructions.
The downside of EAM is the download size, being a huge 91.69 MB, immediately followed by further updates. Anyone on restricted bandwidth or dial up may be advised to look elsewhere, but for an average broadband connection this should not be a factor.
Separating A2 and MBAM is almost impossible. I found them to be on a par with each other regarding their scans, but both require a technical proficiency that many may not possess; A2 requires manual removal of many threats, whilst MBAM forced me to jump through hoops to get it working.
PCTools SpywareDoctor SE also performed well in scanning, finding 24 threats (excluding cookies). Unfortunately, cleaning the system proved more problematic. Despite reporting successful cleansing, SD failed to terminate processes already running, and did not in fact clean some of the more annoying infections. It would also be useful if SD prompted a reboot after cleansing, though it did not do this, and only experience dictated that this would be a good idea.
SD does, however, include real time protection, which most other products don't, and this protection did block those infections that it had failed to clean. Nevertheless, a further scan and clean with SAS was needed to fully clean my test system. A fine effort, but sadly falling short of the mark. Do note that the free version is no longer available from the PCTools website. It can be obtained as part of the Google pack, or from *here. *Warning: This is a Cnet download link. Downloads from Cnet (Download.com) now require the use of a proprietary installer.
Old timer Ad-Aware, coming in at 35.7MB performed reasonably, if not exceptionally, finding a further 24 infections even after cleaning with A-squared, 4 of which represented real threats, whilst the remaining 20 were cookies.
Doing less well in on demand tests were Spybot S&D, and The Cleaner 2010. Spybot was the other program that was actively blocked from running, and nothing I tried could overcome this. It does come with an on demand file scanner which can be run from the command line and set to scan your entire drive. However, after letting this run for over an hour and noting that progress had barely touched my relatively small installation system (2.1 GB) I cancelled. It would take an age to complete the scan, and would only examine files. Registry entries and services would be left untouched. The Cleaner 2010 found absolutely none.
Arovax Shield is still in development, and starting to mature, though there are still bugs to be ironed out. For example, once installed, and after the obligatory reboot to enable it to start it's services, it immediately complained that it could not find Firefox. This is no surprise since FF was not installed on the test system, though I fail to see why it should prevent it from doing its job. Maybe as time progresses this will become more viable, but in my opinion it isn't quite there yet.
And so that leads us to my standard "other recommendations". Internet Explorer has now reached version 8, which I am sure will become the most prolific web browser before too long, and as such will be the most heavily targeted. I stand by previous recommendations that an alternative browser (of which there are many free ones these days, including Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Safari) will offer a safer browsing experience.
And in order to shut the door after the horse has bolted, there are few more useful than HiJack This, which is still a tool requiring expert help, but can be invaluable in helping to clean an infected system. Fortunately, the expert help is still only a forum away.
And as always, let common sense guide you. Don't run a program from an untrusted source, and don't visit websites where infection is likely. You should also beware of popups from programs that you haven't installed, some of the fake anti-spyware I managed to pick up in my browsing sessions was surprisingly convincing. Remember, sometimes malware will scream into your face that it is there (see pic, not a genuine window amongst them). It will just not tell you what it really is.
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Related Products and Links
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Some issues have been reported on 64 bit systems
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Editor
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This software category is maintained by volunteer editor joeguru. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by clicking here. |
The comments section below is so lengthy that it has become difficult for our visitors to read. Future posts will now be edited for length and repetition, and personal attacks deleted. You are all welcome to join our Security Forum which is much better-suited for intensive debate.
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Yes they do but Secunia is much more than this, allowing to scan your whole PC to produce a vulnerability profile and notifying about program changes.
"Secunia PSI detects insecure programs and plug-ins and provides updates to secure your PC. Patching programs and plug-ins secures your PC against many threats which normal anti-virus software can't".
Most programs free or paid will have some form of data collection built it. The only way to find out what this entails is to read the privacy policy for each program individually.
I don't understand why we're all talking about scanners, when the author starts the post mentioning how opendns kept him/her protected. I would like to hear more about this.
There are two aspects to anti-malware security:
1) Prevention - Keeping malware from ever entering your system in the first place.
2) Detection/Removal - If you're already infected, locating and removing the problem(s).
Scanners focus on the second point... they try to locate infections that have already been downloaded (and/or installed) on your system. Some scanners simply detect problems, but don't remove them; other scanners both detect and then (try to) remove problems.
Steve was trying to test how effective some of the more "popular" scanners really are at doing their job. Since scanners search for (and then may try to remove) EXISTING infections, Steve had to (intentionally) infect his system in the first place.
When trying to do so, he discovered that he was having problems "forcing" the infections. In short, something was PREVENTING the infections from entering his machine. Per his investigation, he found out that OpenDNS was the mechanism that was offering him this (unexpected) protection.
This should be taken for what it's worth... per Steve's findings, OpenDNS offers some degree of up-front protection from getting infected in the first place. However, it is not a panacea --- that is to say, one should not rely EXCLUSIVELY on OpenDNS to prevent all problems. Most experts suggest using a layered approach --- which may admittedly include redundancies --- on the hope that what "slips through" one layer may be caught by another. Personally, I use OpenDNS... but I do so in addition to a HOSTS file, IMMUNIZATION (SpyBot, SpywareBlaster), WOT (Web of Trust ratings/blockings) for IE and FireFox, and IE8's SmartScreen Filter. [These are in addition to a good anti-virus (Avast5, in my case) and firewall (Comodo)]. Some may say I'm using "overkill"... but as long as none of these seem to be slowing down my system, I will continue to use them all.
"Safe surfing" --- using a certain degree of common sense in avoiding explicit sites which are "clearly" bad --- also helps.
As for (after-the-fact) scanners, my personal choices are MBAM and SAS.
Finally, if your question was, "why do we need after-the-fact scanners, if we have sufficient up-front protection", the simple answer is that NO protection is 100% foolproof. The virus/malware spreaders always have a head-start on the protection people, and so, no matter how much protection you have... be it "big name" company or small, paid version or free... it's always possible for something to get through your defenses. And that's when we must look to and rely upon scanners for their assistance after-the-fact.
thank you for your words,i have been saying the same thing in this forum for 2 yrs now.doesn't matter if you use freeware or paid aps you have to layer
all software does clean or detect the same or same stuff.use apps that cover each others weakness.i let my guard already once this year.mbam is a standard install for me on all my families computers,i had been clean for a year and got a little cocky.just on a humbug i downloaded sas on my moms computer and there it was a nasty that got past mbam.no security company can make security apps faster than hackers can make system infiltrators.
I find Ad-aware to be up to par lately with detection and removal. I'm not a big fan of superantispyware. I use mainly ad-aware and Malwarebytes as on demand scanners. I have Avast 5 free as my main av I have MSE installed but use it as on demand scanner. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to ditch Avast 5 for MSE. I also use Comodo Firewall not the av part yet which is included in Comodo Internet security I tried it in the past but its still got some false positives to work on imo. But version 4 is much better hands down they are improving very quickly. I also use Immunet Protect with avast and It catches quite a bit that gets by Avast. I do still like Avira but I'm not sure version 10 isn't really a update its the same as version 9 but apparently proactive defense is coming soon to the free av of antivir.
Malwarebytes? MEH ! STILL way too many false positives. Can't be bothered with it anymore,as I can't trust it. It's off my computer.
Will Avast free, Spyware Blaster and Firefox with Ad Block Plus, Ghostery,Zemana Antilogger, KeyScrambler, and BetterPrivacy provide enough realtime protection or is a dedicated, separate antispyware needed? Thank You
Use Sandboxie.
there are no free antispyware apps with realtime protection worth it right now.try this combo avira:fast scanning with a 99.3% detection rate;comes with hips.a good firewall like zonealarm,and malwarebytes and superantispyware for on demand scanning.if you still dont feel safe add snoopfree privacy shield seems to play well with others,but i have not really put it to the test.consider mse also for on demand scanning only has a better removal rate than avast,avira or avg.
May want to rethink the rec of Zone Alarm as a good firewall.Others reviewed here are MUCH better.
Snoopfree is a long dead project which gives horrendous removal problems on some systems. Not recommended.
i have been trying to find a replacement for snoopfree,but i can't find a free anti keylogger that can detect and block screen captures.can anyone help
senior security editor antti koponen list snoopfree as his #1 anti keylogger
in the best free security list in the world.i'm a little confused
i was still trying to here back on what went wrong with snoopfree privacy shield,so i can remove it from my system if neccessary.i decided to give it a test after seeing it on cnet download.com with a 5 star editor rating please follow up on your comment so i can protecy my system.
There are plenty of reports attributing driver issues and BSOD's to this program and the difficulties with removing it from some systems. It is always right that such issues should be brought to potential users attention. Choosing software merely on the basis of a cnet rating is often not the best policy. It is in the forums where you will see the user issues being reported.
Redundant software can still have it's uses, such as RealtimeDefender and SystemSafetyMonitor which also fall into this group but there is often a trade off in stability when using programs which are no longer in development. Most people IMO would be better off using either OnlineArmor or Threatfire.
p.s. antti koponen works for gizmo
thsnks for the info
what went wrong with snoopfree ?
just to be sure about my suggestion of zonealarm i double checked some of the other offers comodo is the best but i have an antivirus and i don't want comodos,it can also be a little naggy,and will fluster and scare new users.online armor does not play with others and i'm avira all the way not to mention it's lack of auto update which is crucial in todays internet climate.pc tools and outpost have been plagued with problems and complaints.
i have no doubt pc tools at least will sort it all out and when they do i just might suggest them.if you have private firewall i could hide an elephant on your harddrive,its like swiss cheese.my zonealarm is trained up it does not bother me and protects internal and external threats and has successfully passed most industry standard leak test.but we can all agree some protection is better than no protection.
I find that AvastAV, Commodo Firewall, MBAM Free and SAS (paid) serve me well, but I'm still testing AntiMalware, so this may change (I have to re-test since some results were extremely inconclusive - I suspect my dodgy surfing to pick up malware wasn't extensive enough).
I disagree with the view (in another post) that SAS is a trojan finder - I find MBAM far better at trojans, but SAS better at other malware.
Steve
This is an excellent combo. SAS is not too impressive still, but better than nothing.
i love avast but had to make a choice and chose avira.i loved comodo until they forced other software onto me.i currently use mbam and sas and swear by them.however most freeware sites including this one list superantispyware as there number one or number two trojan remover."you are what you do consistently"
i agree !! comodo makes a much better firewall.but zonealarm is simple to use and well within the standard for good software
should think so, unless you're a dedicated suicide surfer!
Let's be clear, no single product is going to solve the plethora of malware problems. You're going to need at least 2 or 3 of these applications, running in succession, to find and quarantine/remove infections.
I use SuperAntiSpy and MalwareBytes for bi-weekly scans, in addtion to the fulltime memory resident Tea-timer app (from Spybot S&D) in the background.
Users will also want a good rootkit analyzer or two in their toolkit.
I have some doubts about SuperAntiSpyware! I have the Professional Addition, and also have A-Squared Free, and Microsoft Essentials. My pc was bought on 11-25-2009....to date I have found and removed 44 infections. A-Squared got rid of 28, Microsoft Essentials 16, and SuperAntiSpyware not one, yep thats right not one! I think I could have spent that $19.95 on beer or something!
layering your protection is what you want to do.but choose apps that play to the others weakness and you'll be happier.a squared is a glorified trojan hunter (ikarus), mbam is a trojan hunter, sas is a trojan hunter.mse is great at removal but horrible at blocking and finding malware.the combination of apps is the key.
Do you always run SAS last?
I personally do not like A2 free.
I use malwarebytes most as a first call scanner. When its done the only thing SAS usually finds are some leftover tracking cookies. Its different if I run SAS first.
I feel that despite SAS #1 standing on this board it is Malwarebytes that is the king of the free anti-spyware apps. It won't catch everything but it is amazingly effective at killing rogue antiviruses.
-J
Malwarebytrs is definitely better. SAS way overrated.
I use malwarebytes and also prefer Hitman Pro in Force Breach mode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6eRWTv2STk