How Choose a Spyware Remover : The internet was meant to be anonymous, but when spyware creators have their way, it can be just the opposite. Because of this, the spyware remover is becoming as essential a program to have and use as any. Of the many programs on the internet, there are many different feature sets offered; so, you may want to know what to look for in a good spyware remover. In this article we will discuss the features you want to have in a good spyware remover.
Safe Browsing
It is said that the best medicine is prevention; similarly, the best computer security is to prevent your computer from becoming infected in the first place. While most commercial anti-spyware products marketed at home users still focus mostly on detecting and eradicating existing infections look for more programs to start integrating more preventative measures into their products. One example of this is the “immunizer” feature of Spybot — Search & Destroy, which protects your computer against a range of infections.
Real-time scanning
If you can’t give your computer a vaccine, the next-best alternative is to monitor your computer for signs of an infection throughout the day. This is done by real-time scanning, which constantly monitors your system for unusual behavior which could be a sign of an infection. This is a feature that is becoming common in antivirus programs, and is just as useful for an anti-spyware program.
Heuristics scanning
This is another common feature of good antivirus programs moving over to anti-spyware/adware programs, which complements the previous feature, real-time scanning. Since the program (whether antivirus or anti-spyware) relies on updates to recognize known threats, and there is a lag between a new threat being released and the security programs catching up with it, there is a gap in the protection offered by any security program of this type. Scanning for “heuristics,” which is more or less just a fancy way of saying “rules of thumb,” partly fills this gap by recognizing the common traits of a threat, even if the program isn’t in the database of known threats.
Regular Updates
This one is a proverbial “no-brainer.” Any reputable program will have updates, to give you to most up-to-date protection possible. You may want to look further, however, and differentiate products by the frequency of updates, and the quantity of threats covered by each update. A more frequently updated program is generally favorable, as it allows you to stay more up-to-date given the same quantity of updates; as to the latter point, it should be obvious that a more comprehensive database of threats gives you better protection.
Suspicious File Reporting
If you want to take a more active role in fighting spyware (and adware), this feature helps you do just this. With this feature, you can send any suspicious file to the company behind the software for analysis by computer security experts, helping the entire internet community in the process.
Compatibility and Usability
Of course, you will need a program that is compatible with your operating system and internet browser. For the internet community at large, compatibility with more operating systems and browsers certainly makes a program more useful to more people; that a program has broad compatibility and is widely used gives you some assurance about its quality. Ease of use is always a feature you like to see in any software, and a program that can integrate many functions into an easy to use interface gives you the best of both worlds. Another feature that adds utility to a security program is a display of the name and type of each threat detected, with a description of the threat at the conclusion of a scan, so that you know what infections you have, how bad they are, and can pick out false positives, should any occur.