Flexbeta - Spyware Removal Tools Compared

Flexbeta has a comparison of 5 spyware removers - AdAware, Spybot S&D, Webroot SpySweeper, SpyHunter and SpyRemover. Their conclusion:

"The results not only show that SpySweeper was able to detect more objects than the rest of the pack, it also shows how users should be careful what they pay for. SpyRemover looks extremely similar to SpyBot S&D, yet it was not able to detect more than the freely available SpyBot S&D. In addition, SpyBot goes beyond SpyRemover by creating a backup of the registry and a system restore point. I would rather install SpyBot S&D and contribute to the cause by donating to the authors, than to pay for a rip-off."

Read the full review here.

I thought the review was somewhat lacking in that no attempt was made to double-check each programs' effectiveness by running one of the others afterwards (except in the case of SpySweeper). Since every program has its own method of counting spyware, relying on such raw counts is a fairly ineffectual method of judging which is better. Nevertheless it is good to see the rip-offs being unmasked.

 

I agree with you...