Sunbelt's
CounterSpy removed 90% of the miscreant Browser Helper Objects (BHOs)
in our tests. Sporting above average detection for only $19.99,
CounterSpy offers inexpensive protection, an easy-to-use interface and
US-based tech support.
Windows
Defender is offered free and, like CounterSpy, sports above average
detection rates. The product is still considered beta and tech support
is not provided. Despite these setbacks, it can provide a good second
opinion. However, Microsoft AntiSpyware and CounterSpy should not be
installed on the same system, as they both share common components.
Free
for personal use, Spybot doesn't have stellar removal rates. It does,
however, provide TeaTimer and SDHelper which are extremely effective at
preventing adware and spyware from gaining a foothold on your computer.
So while you may not want to rely on it for detection and removal, you
may want to install and activate it alongside other protection to help
keep your system spyware-free.
Another
free utility, Hijack This isn't a traditional spyware scanner. It will,
however, provide a full report of what's active on your system.
Experienced users can peruse the report, identify the miscreants, and
use Hijack This to disable the unwanted loading (or do so manually).
Less experienced users can save the Hijack This log and send it to a
more savvy friend for advice.
Posted at Saturday, December 23, 2006 by khairilz
