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Best anti-spyware software
Pros: Accurate malware detection, thorough malware removal, easy-to-use interface.
Cons: Time-consuming installation, can slow system performance.
811848010591
Windows 2000, XP (32-bit only), Vista (32-bit only)
PC
800 MHz
100 MB
512 MB
Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
No
Yes
Real-time protection, detection and removal of malware, rootkit detection, and automatic updates. Free customer support
Yes
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Budget anti-spyware software
Pros: Easy on system resources, fully functional 15-day trial, fast, accurate scans, inexpensive.
Cons: Some compatibility issues, default 1 a.m. scan time.
N/A
Windows 2000, XP (32-bit and 64-bit), Vista (32-bit and 64-bit)
PC
400 MHz
150 MB
256 MB
Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
No
No
Boot time scans, small memory footprint, rootkit protection, malware identification and deletion
Yes
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Security suite with the best spyware prevention
Pros: Excellent anti-spyware performance, minimal system drag, minimizes security software conflicts, security suites are a good value.
Cons: Spyware not as good as standalone programs, technical support can be frustrating.
037648631105
Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later), Vista
PC
300 MHz
200 MB
256 MB
Internet Explorer 6.0 or later
No
No
Antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, firewall, identity protection, anti-spam, parental control
No
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Free adware/spyware removal tool
Pros: Free, decent spyware removal performance, real-time protection.
Cons: No real-time registry protection, no automatic scans, can't scan networked drives.
not avail.
N/A
Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows XP (32-bit), Windows 2000 Pro
PC
600 MHz or faster
100 MB
50 MB (100MB recommended)
Internet Explorer (version 5.5 or higher), Firefox (version 1.5 or higher), Opera (version 9 or higher)
Yes
Yes
No real-time protection, but commercial versions of Ad-Aware do offer this
No
-
Free real-time spyware blocker
Pros: Free, decent malware detection, scans can be scheduled, real-time protection.
Cons: Not effective at malware removal.
not avail.
N/A
Windows Server 2003/XP (validated legal copy)
PC
233MHz Pentium (Pentium III recommended) or higher
20 MB
64 MB (128MB recommended)
Internet Explorer 6.0 or later
Yes
Yes
Real-time scanning
No