Best AntiSpyware 2014-2015

After the year-end (or start of the year, depending upon your view) review of the Best System Cleaner, let us have a look at the Best AntiSpyware tools as they exist in January 2015 (or December 2014).  If you wonder whether you really need an anti-spyware apart from an anti-virus/firewall suite, the best answer is the 2012 article from Ask Bob Rankin [http://askbobrankin.com/do_i_still_need_antispyware_protection.html].

I fall into the second group that Bob refers to, and scan with not one but two anti-spyware programs every weekend or so.  Let us have a look at the latest scan with two of the most popular Anti-Spyware products – free version – as they exist today:  SuperAntiSpyware (SAS) and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (MBAM).

The versions as installed and compared are the free versions of:

• SuperAntiSpyware – version 6.0.1168
• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware – version 2.0.4.1028

Note:  I also used to scan with SpyBot S&D, but the latest versions have become such a nagware, and they positively put me off.

SuperAntiSpyware

SuperAntiSpyware or SAS as it is affectionately called is one of the superb piece of software you will ever come across.  The interface is so simple, yet functional, there cannot be any confusion on what the tool will do.  Though the latest version 6 of SuperAntiSpyware have assumed a garish look (IMHO) in the name of metro style, the application is as user-friendly and thorough as ever.  Of all the anti-malware tools, I think the SAS has the fastest and the quickest scanning time.  SAS has long been my favourite tool for spyware hunting, and SAS version 6.0.1168 is no exception.  With the ‘Complete Scan’ enabled, it was quick to catch all the files it figured were suspicious.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or MBAM as it is referred to in short, is another excellent tool for spyware hunting.  If SAS had a functional interface, MBAM has an uber-functional GUI.  The latest version Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, version 2 have also undergone a style upgrade, but thankfully have adopted a more flashy, rather than a garish style.  MBAM became one of my favoured tools right from version 1, for it is thorough.  It is so thorough that it even tags a modified HOSTS file as Potentially Unwanted Modification.  In the ‘Threat Scan’ mode, MBAM did a thorough search and spit out perceived threats.

Scan Results

Here are the screen grab of the scan results with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and SuperAntiSpyware, side-by-side. 



As the screen grab shows, the SuperAntiSpyware is fantastic in catching all the potential ad-ware, in this case all those advertising cookies.  The Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is incomparable in ferreting out Potentially Unwanted Programmes (PUP), including the probably harmless mutilated downloads through Chrome.

Summary

SuperAntiSpyware (SAS) and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) should both be installed in every PC.  Whether to go in for the paid-premium versions of either is an individuals choice.  But what should not be a choice is a weekly or at the least a bi-weekly scan by both SAS and MBAM to be free of adware and malware including spyware.

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