Spybot is one of five software products made by this firm, and is undoubtedly their most well-known. Safer Networking home page (English version) In this article I will examine one of the most popular and highly regarded freeware alternatives: Spybot Search & Destroy, developed and offered by Safer Networking Ltd. The solutions available range from costly to free, and there has been no evidence so far that the former is any better than the latter. Some are focused exclusively on battling spyware, while others include it as just one component in an overall security package.
To cure your PC of what ails it, you can turn to one of several anti-spyware applications available on the market. That's where the other side of the computer health-maintenance coin comes into play. SpybotÄespite following these and other security precautions, it is quite possible that your computer will get hit with some spyware, at one point or another in the future. Use the latest version of a safe browser (e.g., Firefox) and see if it has add-ons that further enhance your security (e.g., ).
Avoid dicey websites - especially those that ask you to install anything on your computer just to access tempting goodies, such as videos. Likewise, the best approach for preventing your computer from ever falling prey to malware - including spyware - is by adhering to several best practices: Install a software or hardware firewall that can detect and selectively block incoming traffic (such as attacks from hackers via your broadband connection to the Internet) and outgoing traffic (such as spyware "phoning home" to the miscreants who created it). In terms of preventive medicine for your body, it is best to employ a multi-pronged strategy involving optimal diet, sleep, exercise, and other factors. Just as we humans can minimize the risks of ill health through prevention and curing, the same is true of protecting the health of our vulnerable PCs. Aside from the melodramatic value - which can then become transmuted into monetary value - the analogies are in many ways quite valid, because there are definite parallels between computational and biological viruses, and the means of battling against them. You will hear software vendors urge prospective customers to "inoculate" their systems against possible "infection" by the latest "strain" of "computer virus" that happens to be "spreading" across the Internet. The realm of malware is replete with medical references. If anyone would like to learn the historical, technical, and legal details of spyware, then an excellent place to begin is the Wikipedia entry. But at a minimum, they should be cognizant that it is malicious software that collects personal information, usually with the intent of sending that information to third parties, without the owner's knowledge or consent. The average computer user arguably has no need to understand the intricacies of spyware, or any other form of malware. Most computer users are familiar with the concept of spyware - at least, they understand that it is something that can end up on their computers and cause some sort of harm, similar to viruses.
This article was published by ComputorEdge, issue #2823,, as a feature article, in both their PDF edition (on pages 10-15) and their website.