PC Tools Spyware Doctor 6.0

PC Tools Spyware Doctor 2009 does exactly as it promises. Installing the product was easy and within I first few minutes I was able to go from the installation screen to using the product. While I feel… like the product is protecting my computer I have to say I was very dismayed to realized HOW SLOW MY COMPUTER is while the product is running. Upon further inspection I realized that at time 50% of my CPU was being used by this program alone (which could lead to crashing if larger programs are running at the same time such as internet explorer or word). While the product does the get the job, I do recommend looking for one that might now be so taxing on your computer's resources.

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This is another spyware tool offered from the ether. Currently, I run Windows XP SP3 with a hefty (75%) full hard drive and an old HP ZD8000. I currently have an assumed "clean" system cleaned by Norton… and McAfee. This is the test system I used with PC Tools Spyware Doctor (PCTSD). Cost: PCTSD is a little pricey. It's $30, where most of its established competitors are $20, and some are even free (spybot, adaware). Installation: PCTSD is a simple install. Put disk in, auto-loads, and asks the basic install questions. Performance: PCTSD didn't pick up anything on my HP, but again it is assumed to be a clean system. However, when reviewing large zipped files, it stalled repeatedly. This may be an indicator of a bug, but it is annoying nonetheless. It also (like McAfee) likes to ping the network excessively to make sure your version of the software is legal. Another annoying bug since once you first verify the software, it should not be able to be changed moments later to a fake version. Overall: I think the average user should pass on this--too expensive considering the performance. I'll stick with spybot and adaware until PCTSD gets an upgrade, and hopefully comes out less expensive.

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