Spybot Search & Destroy 1.3 review

Bruce Stewart CNET

Published: 17 May 2004

Spybot Search & Destroy 1.3 is free and doesn't require you to provide an email address, plus it does an excellent job wiping your system clean of spyware and adware. Of the anti-spyware software we have tested, Spybot is the best, finding every possible pest. Its default mode is easy to use and perfect for less experienced users, while its advanced mode offers features that will please most high-end users. Spybot has wide international appeal, supporting more than 30 different languages, and it remains available as a free download -- you can download Spybot Search & Destroy 1.3 here.

After downloading the 3.5MB file, installation is smooth. Simply select your language preference, and you're ready to go. Spybot has an easy-to-use interface: from the main window, you can scan your system for spyware, update the program, and recover your system to a previous state, if needed, thanks to the backup copies that Search & Destroy makes of everything it changes. A highly configurable advanced-mode interface is available for power users who like to schedule their scans, manage cookies, add skins and even customise Spybot's operation – for example, deciding whether to launch at start, to log files or to display warnings.

Like all anti-spyware applications, Spybot scans your computer's active memory and hard drive for programs that add unwanted advertising or track your online moves. In our informal tests, Spybot performed the most thorough job of finding and removing these pests. For example, Spybot is the only spyware-cleansing program we tested that detected other anti-spyware programs installed on our system, and it properly warned us about false-positive results caused by running multiple anti-spyware programs. Files quarantined by one anti-spyware program remain on your hard drive and could be viewed by a second anti-spyware program as potential threats, although they are not.

Unfortunately, the integrated help within Spybot Search & Destroy left us wanting more information. Also, Spybot's Web site doesn't offer online support other than email. Our test question went unanswered. If you run into any problems, you're on your own. On the other hand, this easy-to-use utility is unlikely to give you any real headaches.

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