Slow Spy Sweeper 5.0 scans

I found out recently that the new Spy Sweeper 5.0 is taking a real long time for scans for some reason. When I first upgraded to 5.0 the scans took about 8 minutes, which was significantly better than 4.5.

Let me note here that 5.0 has on the Options screen a slider at the bottom that you can use to increase CPU usage and scanning speed. Unfortunately it's not all that obvious. (I run scans at maximum speed.) I also don't like the scanning/sweeping options to be on the Options screen; I think they belong on the Sweep screen.

Recently the same scans have been taking 45 minutes. Ridiculous. I do not include scanning for rootkits, as the instructions on SS 5.0 say it can double scanning time.

I also run Spyware Doctor 3.8 (just now 4.0), and there have been some interactions with SS that I have noted on another thread and solved with Bubba's wise assistance. So I tried exiting Spyware Doctor before running the Spy Sweeper scan.

Sure enough, the scan time was back to 8 minutes. I then reopened Spyware Docor and scanned again. It was very slow once more.

Exactly what the deal is here I don't know, but the best advice seems to be to disable Spyware Doctor if you have it, do the Spy Sweeper scan, and then restart Spyware Doctor. The two applications do not seem to interact very much otherwise.

I also have Spybot, Windows Defender, and NIS running with active protection, but there does not seem to be a problem with them and Spy Sweeper that I am aware of.

Another forum on this problem here: http://discuss.pcmag.com/forums/1004329327/ShowPost.aspx.

 

You tried 2 resources hog!

Some malware can put your system with a very low performance and unstable, so this 2 programs can be called a "malware", in my opinion...

Can find better options out there...

 

Well, I'm always open to suggestions if you have any. I'd be glad to have your thoughts.

I've had Spy Sweeper since I bought my computer two years ago, and I am basically happy with its performance. I don't know if in that period of time I have ever had a piece of true malware installed, only false positives, and I do some scan periodically with other AS that do not offer me active protection, like Ad-Aware SE. Both Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor come out at the top of almost all the comparative AS tests I've seen.

For active protection I also have Spybot, but in tests overall is is a mediocre product, although worth having.

I also use SpywareGuard and SpywareBlaster, and miscellaneous other applications. BHO Demon is good, but it is only for BHOs (duh) and is no longer supported.

I don't know that in general SS and SD are that heavy resource hogs. Memory is not an issue for me - 1G RAM.

As for CPU time, I like to use Process Explorer from www.sysinternals.com. In monitoring what processes are consuming CPU time I don't think any AS I have is all that bad, except during scans. I don't like to do anything when a scan is running anyway, so it's just a matter of how much time a scan takes in total, not how it is slowing any other running applications down. During a scan I can just do something else for 10-15 minutes.

 

I'm not saying that they had a bad detection, I just said that a program like these should be made to protect our systems and not to slow it down and have a lot of conflits with another programs...

About suggestions, for anti-spywares this is my prefered list (I'm not using them all!):
ewido anti-spyware
a-squared
SUPERAntiSpyware
CounterSpy
Spyware Terminator
SpywareBlaster
HijackThis!

 

I just got PC Magazine for September 5, 2006.

It tested Spy Sweeper 5.0, which scored 4.5 out of 5, and received an Editor's Choice. Spyware Doctor 4.0 also scored a 4.5.

The review of ewido was entitled "Anemic antispyware" and got a paltry 2 out of 5. The review said in part: "For the same $29.95, though, you can get Spy Sweeper or Spyware Doctor, and ewido performs terribly by comparison. Until Grisoft beefs up ewido so that it can reliably clean an infested system, I don't recommend it."

You can find complete reviews at go.pcmag.com/spywaredoctor4, .../spysweeper5, and .../ewido40.

Evaluations of course rest on the specific test parameters. Different parameters, different results. Nevertheless, I would not put too much stock in ewido.

The spyware warrior site recommends the following, including ewido (!):

Ad-aware
ewido
Pest Patrol
Spy Sweeper
Spyware Doctor
SUPERAntispyware
Windows Defender

Spybot is also mentioned.

Counterspy is not recommended because Eric Howes has had a consulting relationship with Sunbelt, and he wisely wishes to avoid any possible conflict of interest.

For those who don't know it, Counterspy at one time shared technology with Giant antispyware, which eventually became Microsoft AS and then Windows Defender. Counterspy and Windows Defender don't look much like each other anymore.

Spyware Terminator has had a dubious history on the site and has been on the list of rogue or suspect antispyware applications; you can check the latest note here: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm#spyterm_note .

I am not aware that Spy Sweeper is slowing my system down all that much. As far as conflicts, it will give me a warning if another AS application does something like install a BHO, but that's what it's being paid to do. Like many other such applications, it will give me the option of always taking an action when it presents me with a choice, so I don't have to see it again.

All in all, I'm happy with SS, and would not want to be on the web without it.