Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

tinycrack reviewed v2.8.67.0 on Apr 8, 2020

Pros: Our approved Spybot - Search & Destroy protects your computer against malware. Spybot Anti-Beacon helps prevent your data from being sent to third parties. The new Spybot Identity Monitor helps you realize and take action when your personal information held by third parties has been compromised. If you are not looking for a single system, you can find your individual solution among the family packages or the small business package that brings together all the security and privacy applications you need.
spybot

Cons: Our approved Spybot - Search & Destroy protects your computer against malware. Spybot Anti-Beacon helps prevent your data from being sent to third parties.

Bottom Line: Our approved Spybot - Search & Destroy protects your computer against malware. Spybot Anti-Beacon helps prevent your data from being sent to third parties. The new Spybot Identity Monitor helps you realize and take action when your personal information held by third parties has been compromised. If you are not looking for a single system, you can find your individual solution among the family packages or the small business package

Skikrazi reviewed v2.3.39 on May 13, 2014

Love Spybot 2.0. After 2 weeks of struggling trying to remove Coupon Dropdown, I finally tried Spybot 2.0 and it was the only one that worked--after trying Malwarebytes anti-Malware, McAfee and many others.

NyaR reviewed v2.3.39 on Apr 29, 2014

I like the immunization feature, that's all I like. I run it once a month or so. However, for some reason, SpyBot wants to run on startup every time.

System services are all deactivated (security center, scanner, updating). All system integration is deactivated/uninstalled. However, for some strange reason, SpyBot runs on startup.

I have unchecked every option within the program but it still wants to run on startup. WHY? I just want to use the immunization feature. Why is it so difficult to design the application to not run on startup? It is doing absolutely nothing when it runs. It isn't scanning, it isn't immunizing, it isn't updating, WHY IS IT RUNNING ON STARTUP? Why do I need to use a 3rd party tool to remove your application from startup? Honestly it is really simple, don't force your app to run if the user doesn't want it. Who are you to decide you know better?

mikebratley reviewed v2.2.25.0 on Mar 11, 2014

good stuff

olivergiving reviewed v2.1.21 SR2 on Sep 25, 2013

3 stars only

nvic reviewed v2.1.21 SR2 on Sep 24, 2013

This has been Bloatware ever since 2.x came around, and detection rates aren't all that great compared to something like MalwareBytes. You're better off looking elsewhere for anti-spyware now.

Yes it has more features, but many of them are unnecessary. Some of the paid stuff like command line options is available in the older version for free.

Using 1.6.2, and plan to keep doing so.

tomkelly reviewed v2.1.21 SR2 on Aug 22, 2013

love it

dmathwizard reviewed v2.1.19.0 on May 27, 2013

Spybot is great at what it does, and that is to remove spyware and ad-ware. I use it daily for repairing machines. Its the only one I use. It is way better and more thorough than MalwareBytes, SuperAntiSpyware, and Microsoft's Spyware Removal.

I have performed multiple testing with this and other applications because I want the best tools. It doesn't claim to remove malware so I won't dock it for that. It will not detect malware like MoneyPak etc.. I use a malware scanner for this.

Cons
Being able to make a boot-able CD. It will start and use 100% CPU but never go past that point.
I think the phone application on it is useless.
Certain sections that are no longer updated are being updated in a different file so it looks like updates aren't being performed.

dagold reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Apr 9, 2013

Are any of these reviews actually getting to Spybot S&D? I sure like v 1.6.2 and rely on it a lot and hate to see it go downhill with ver 2.x. I hope Spybot can fix all their bugs - FAST!.
I also noticed Spybot ver 2 does not list Windows 7 as one the the supported OS's. Although win7 sucks in user friendliness, Win7 is far better than Win8.
I'll try and load Spybot 2.x for my own review. ONE crash though and I go back to v1.6.2. Spybot and all other programs would have an easier job if Microsoft would fix their whole OS concept.

Microsoft did the same thing with their geeks (out of touch w real world users) trying to improve MS Windows w bells and whistles and only create new bugs and problems with each new version. They had it right with MSDOS as their OS and "windows" loaded as an "environment" over DOS.

The OS (DOS) should be separate and accessible when the bells and whistles (Windows) crash. They should follow the UNIX concept of building a rock-solid & secure foundation that DOESN'T crash and is non-hack-able with viruses, spyware, malware, etc.

They should have built on that concept to lock down the security and stability of an operating system and allow users to load whichever windows version they wanted over a solid foundation according to their needs. There should be 3 separate Registries, 1.) one for the separate, rock-solid, secure OS, 2.) one for the windows system, drivers and software needed to start and run the ver of windows and 3.) one for ALL Application Programs loaded so when windows crashes, all three Registries are not lost and the entire system w drivers and programs have to be completely re-installed.

I'm ready to go to MAC and junk Microsoft.

I partition my hard drive so the bare minimum Windows files, security sw, hardware drivers, etc., are the only things loaded on the main partition so the PC starts and runs as if there are NO programs on it - it keeps it FAST! I load ALL Program Apps on a separate partition so I have a list of them should they need to be reloaded when windows crashes. To eliminate loss of data, I make sure ALL data, videos, music, images, and anything I create or design is on completely separate partition or even on a separate physical HDD also partitioned. This allows programs to find files a LOT faster than searching en entire HUMONGOUS hard drive for the files - fragmented or not. It also allows for faster backups of data without having to backup programs or Windows files. Think of your hard drive as a 100,000 acre ranch and you have to find 23 calves. If the acreage is partitoned into smaller pastures, it would be a LOT easier and faster to look in one smaller pasture where you put them. The same goes with a 100 GB hard drive.

Pissed reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Jan 24, 2013

If I can ever get my hands on the Devs of this. This program nuked my Windows 7 OS and now it looks like it cannot be recovered

JBetaNewsB reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Jan 13, 2013

Even the 'vendor' spiel seems vague and evasive. Spybot program maintenance seems to have been abandoned years ago!?
Where could it have obtained or justified the 5 stars? how old are the 82M downloads?

gnorf86 reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Dec 13, 2012

This is sad. Spybot was a good program, but the 2.0 version is clunky and overloaded with useless crap.

gatorfan95 reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Dec 13, 2012

It used to be the "go to" to remove crap from your computer, then they tried to make something out of it it didn't need to be. They made it junk 3 years ago and it is still junk

@JBetaNewsB: If you look at the 5 star reviews, they are all at least 2 years old, going on 3 or more. They were posted back when this thing was worth downloading. Not many use it anymore, hence the lack of recent, lower ratings.

oldog55 reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Dec 11, 2012

This "was" a good program, Why do these companys always think changing the format of a good program makes it better?

Andem reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Dec 6, 2012

This program is pretty ineffective and is prone to false positives. Look elsewhere for spyware/adware protection like a full antivirus suite!

ZenoLabs reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Nov 25, 2012

Another one bites the dust.

LarkBee reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Nov 24, 2012

Some years back (2008), my son acquired the RustockB rootkit while using my computer. Spybot was the only program that found it. My antivirus (Avira) and antispyware (Malwarebytes) did not. It took jumping through more hoops to remove it, but at least the problem was identified.

This newer version, while trying to become more relevant and responsive to the newer types of malware, adversely impacts system performance to such a degree that I won't be using it. v1.62 is still being supported so I will be keeping it as a secondary "on demand" scanner. If/when the Spybot devs work out the bloatware issues with this version or at least provide an easier way to opt out of unwanted/unneeded features, I might try it again but for now, no...can't recommend it.

LarkBee reviewed v2.0.11 RC3 on Nov 24, 2012

Some years back (2008), my son acquired the RustockB rootkit while using my computer. Spybot was the only program that found it. My antivirus (Avira) and antispyware (Malwarebytes) did not. It took jumping through more hoops to remove it, but at least the problem was identified.

This newer version, while trying to become more relevant and responsive to the newer types of malware, adversely impacts system performance to such a degree that I won't be using it. v1.62 is still being supported so I will be keeping it as a secondary "on demand" scanner. If/when the Spybot devs work out the bloatware issues with this version or at least provide an easier way to opt out of unwanted/unneeded features, I might try it again but for now, no...can't recommend it.

a_ber reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Nov 24, 2012

This stupid program tries to remove the the babylon translation program.

I agree that the babylon's advertisement methods a kind of malware and babylon.toolbar is also of this kind, but babylon itselt is very good translation program.

nvic reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Nov 20, 2012

New version is bloatware and crippleware...ugh. I used to love this program, but there's no way I'm keeping this new version.

On top of it's size, they removed features I need like command line functions (they now want $14 just for this and iPhone scans!) and made it nagware. I'll be using 1.6 until I can't get detection updates, then dumping this product completely.

Sad to see one of the classics go like this...

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.0.12.0 on Nov 19, 2012

cool but this is a review of Spybot - Search & Destroy the new one.. it is a real pile

nilst2006 reviewed v2.0.11 RC3 on Oct 25, 2012

As adaware it has become bloated and unuseful...

JRice reviewed v2.0.10 RC2 on Oct 4, 2012

malwarebytes is lightweight and 100% BETTER than spybot ...too bloated :(

TomWibbaert reviewed v2.0.10 RC2 on Sep 4, 2012

lol. I'd rather have malware too.

gatorfan95 reviewed v2.0.10 RC2 on Sep 4, 2012

It has nothing to do with being beta. This program use to be the "go to" to get crap off your computer, then about 4 years ago they decided to make it more than it needed to be. Now it's a bloated mess and resource hog. Ever hear of the old adage "if it aint broke, don't fix it?". The developers of this thing should have thought of that a long time ago.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.0.10 RC2 on Sep 4, 2012

they have made it via committee and that is the problem... it used to be one genius in charge.... now it is like norton and all the other committee products....

sheinaya reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jul 21, 2012

Cool! but try ca anti virus, for me its the best, real time scanner is very light, unlike other anti-virus makes your PC stuck at 5-10secs.
I have a copy, license will expire on 2015,
you can download it here>> ca-anti-virus dot weebly dot com.

Cheers!

Tex O Toole reviewed v2.0.9.0 RC1 on Jul 19, 2012

I'd rather have malware.

HeilNizar reviewed v2.0.9.0 RC1 on Jul 5, 2012

Used to be king, now its rubbish, no beta and no final release can rescue it from this mess ::vomit::

bjornturun reviewed v2.0.9.0 RC1 on Jul 5, 2012

I cannot believe what other reviewers have said. They do not appear to understand what a beta product is. If it is just the protection they want, stick to the tried and tested version. If they want a preview of a new product download a beta! I have downloaded the RC1 and I like it. It now has some other free tools they provide integrated. This is useful to the experienced user but they should be used with caution. It is also a lot faster than previous Betas

vinchinzu reviewed v2.0.8.0 Beta 6 on Jun 16, 2012

This is a 'featured file' and all of the reviews are awful. Why the disconnect?

ishte reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jun 14, 2012

Spybot Search and Destroy is a great piece of software. Unlike Ad-Aware (which is becoming bloatware, which now tries to replace essential security elements on my computer with its own which do not work very well and often lock up my computer since installed) which I have recently removed in favor of Spybot, S&D is slim and quick and efficient. It does what it does and doesn't try to do everything else too..

That said, beware downloading it. The download link is deceptively hidden on this site in the side bar among several other download buttons, which vary with refreshes, and many of which are MORE VISIBLE as download buttons than the software you are downloading.

It took me three tries to find the right one (and I'm not stupid). Now I have "PC Speed Maximizer which immediately ran and told me about the 7,867 items to clean on this PC, which if I were stupid and ran it would then tell me that I'd have to buy the software for $X.xx if I want to clean more than 5 of them. Thankfully I also have Spybot S&D back.

Hilbert reviewed v2.0.8.0 Beta 6 on May 11, 2012

I used 1.x for years. It was never exciting but worked reasonably well.

As others have observed, this v2 is a mess. Too much wrong to detail except it's bloated, slows system down and is annoyingly intrusive. If you must try it then use an old or spare system (but really life's too short to bother).

One star's too many.

gatorfan95 reviewed v2.0.8.0 Beta 6 on May 11, 2012

Bleh. I stopped using this a few years ago because of the bloat and other issues. Figured I'd see if anything has changed. It hasn't. Removed.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.0.8.0 Beta 6 on May 11, 2012

Please Do not change from the 1.62 interface!!!!
this junk was made by a committee....

purplehaze32 reviewed v2.0.8.0 Beta 6 on May 10, 2012

Giving such a successful and effective program an overhaul like this is fixing what didn't need fixing. Sorry developers, but as a long-time (many, many years) SB-S&D user, 2.0 needs to be thrown in the garbage with New Coke and Ad-Aware. Chalk it up as a mistake and just build on what works. Unless that happens, I'll stick with 1.x for as long as it's supported, then regrettably uninstall it like I did Ad-Aware and hope something else fills the void.

bobad reviewed v2.0.7 Beta 5 on Feb 22, 2012

This is the slowest, most bloated, disorganized, and unintuitive software I have ever used. The GUI is all higgeldy-piggeldy, the real time protection is resource hungry, and the scanner is dog slow even on an SSD. Don't even try to use the Explorer context menu to scan a folder, you'l turn into a fossil waiting for it to finish. It's a shame, because the definitions and cleaning are very good. Enough is enough, I can no longer use Spybot until they lighten it up and clean up the GUI.

nilst2006 reviewed v2.0.7 Beta 5 on Feb 10, 2012

This follow the same path as Lavasoft Adaware....down the sewers.

HeilNizar reviewed v2.0.7 Beta 5 on Feb 9, 2012

hehe, same story again and again, they keep spoiling descent softwares, WHY?
These programmers need a slap on the face with my Johnson.

k3zrradio reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Jan 22, 2012

I think more thought should be given to the different browsers. Other than that and at this point in time, well done.... The new program not only looks good, but seems faster.... Nice job!

k3zrradio

CyberDoc999 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jan 15, 2012

Spybot will not protect you from a keylogger....
it is for spyware and adware only.....

JaiHo Natan reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Dec 27, 2011

I use AVG,Malware Bytes and Spybot and they work very good.I think Spybot is a great anti-malware program and itt has great malware an spyware detection rates.,but,it does not offer anti-virus software technology so if you have Spybot you should also have an antivirus.

miligc reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Dec 4, 2011

A year ago I worked for a game, so I had access to an important intranet. Players used to send me a lot of keyloggers, so I needed extracare with mails, etc... Our boss makes us download Spybot S&D and then we never had trouble with keyloggers. Perfect protection.

grum36 reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 21, 2011

it's like adaware or google from bad to worse

gemal reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 20, 2011

Version 1 was great. Used in on all of computers.
Version 2 is a disaster!

RWW reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 13, 2011

This is coming off my machine as soon as I finish this. I've seen so much software ruined after too many hands have been into it. Why take something so simple and clean I can put it on customer's machines and they won't screw it up and turn it into something so cumbersome? If this is the future of Spybot I will never use or recommend it again.

ppscslv reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Oct 11, 2011

It freeze browsers for a few seconds when you try to access some swebsites.

nvic reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 7, 2011

Beta 4...just as bad, if not worse, than Beta 3. Spybot has successfully ruined a great application.

MalwareBytes is much better nowadays.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 7, 2011

no this should be called alpha.... or worse

qazimono reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 7, 2011

Whohha They just destroyed a legend application.
What is this?! They follow adaware way. Ahh you Fckrs!

war59312 reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 7, 2011

Mehha, 2.0 is terrible indeed.

Vimes reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 6, 2011

Alas this application used to be a must have one for me when it was in the 1.xx versions. Like others have noted this now has gotten way too bloated and slow for it to be of value.
Instead I use the Malwarebytes offering which seems far more responsive and useful.

BIL reviewed v2.0.6 Beta 4 on Oct 6, 2011

I like Spybot and it has worked well in the past. I was surprised when it would not run at all on my two plain vanilla Windows 7 (64 bit) machines. It seemed to install ok but would not run on either. I think they need to do a bit more wore.

frankyrey reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Sep 10, 2011

Easily one of the best antimalware in the industry. And who said that their is no such thing as a free lunch? But in this case, it comes without the lousy quality that freeware usually gives. In fact it does its purported job with optimal quality that even commercial antimalware can't give.

hedley reviewed v2.0.5 Beta 3 on Aug 26, 2011

You doing WRONG!
What is this?!!!!
It's look bloodware , not working freezing...How you can destroy legend application ehhh

HeilNizar reviewed v2.0.5 Beta 3 on Aug 7, 2011

So, another descent software gone bad, I have no idea what these people are thinking!

nvic reviewed v2.0.5 Beta 3 on Aug 5, 2011

I used to recommend the 1.6.2 version because it was lightweight, had a decent scanner, and included some nice tools like a startup manager. I have NO plans to recommend 2.x.

2.x is massive, bloated, and slow compared to 1.6.2. And there's the crap that runs in the background, even with the real-time stuff disabled.

All most people need is a basic scanner for a periodic checkup. Malwarebytes does this, and it does it well, so I'll be recommending it instead from now on.

ilev reviewed v2.0.5 Beta 3 on Aug 5, 2011

It has become bloated. I have my anti-virus, I have my real-time application protection/application whitelist... so I don't need them in S&D too. All I want is the basic on-demand scan.

minklein reviewed v2.0.5 Beta 3 on Aug 4, 2011

I don't know, I have run SBS&D for years and it has worked well. I just installed this beta and I like it, worked perfect for me. It seemed to scan faster than 1.6, using Win7 64. I think they are making some good improvements.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.0.4 Beta 2 on Jul 7, 2011

this is more alpha
very buggy

how to windows reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jul 6, 2011

Spybot S&D is one of those programs that you have to download as soon as you get a new computer or reinstall your OS

terrister reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on Jun 19, 2011

Glad to see them update this program. The new interface is not bad.

1 suggestion. Have SB2 uninstall the SB1.62 when upgraded over the other. Rebooted and had BOTH running.

reidyn reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on Jun 14, 2011

Like some of the others, I too am wondering exactly what happened. I do like to install several spyware scanners and use these only for on-demand full system scan to improve my odds of catching the bad stuff. Most of these products can install and turn off the resident pieces.

This one apparently cannot. It offers quite a list of always-on options, and try removing any of those and leaving just the "essential" parts, and NOTHING works. I did just that, and was notified when I went to scan that "essential files are missing", which it suggested might be due to malware having removed it rather than the end user (me) using the software's own installation options to not install those "essential" parts that weren't described as "essential" at the time. It never would allow me to even do an on demand system scan. Everything I tried, with the sole exception of updating definitions and doing an immunization, failed due to "essential files missing". How useless is that? Why even offer the option of installing certain components if nothing is going to work without all of those?

My choices would appear to be either install the full, bloated app with all of its always-running stuff, or ... nothing. Oh well. Uninstalling it now. I had always depended on this as the on-demand sanity check for whatever the other guys left behind (and likewise, all of them were functioning for this role other than whichever was allowed to be active all the time), but I guess I'm down to just SuperAntiSpyware free edition and MalwareBytes free edition.

I may check back after the beta run is over and see if this has been fixed. I can't imagine this being the way it was designed. Surely one must be able to exclude the always-on stuff and still be able to do a basic scan.

gawd21 reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 13, 2011

I love Spybot, but V2 is ugly, and is just as bad as the spyware it is supposed to remove. It locks up and is damn hard to get rid of. I will stick with 1.6.2.
Unless the UI changes to something worth looking at and they make some major changes ( am I sure they will get the bugs worked out ) I will not be donating anymore or even downloading v2.

It's just toooooooo damned ugly!

Videotape reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 13, 2011

Like many users here I've been using Spybot for a long time and although I've never experienced any problems with previous releases this beta didn't work for me.
CPU usage was at 50% all the time and by clicking the desktop icon it would go as high as 100% bringing the system to a complete freeze (allowing me only to force restart). The uninstall didn't work either, I was able to uninstall it only by entering safe mode (and Revo found more than 200+ leftovers).
Perhaps it was a conflict with other security software running on my machine, Avast free and Comodo FW but I wouldn't know that.
One thing I'm sure of is that I was expecting a lot from this application but as I wasn't even able to start it properly I have to give it a low rating.
And yes, I know it's a beta, but I use a lot of betas and rarely did I have this much trouble...

nathan0815 reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 13, 2011

I have been using Spybot from the very beginning and I really love it. All the new features are really great. Hope the final version will be available soon.

Dapple reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 12, 2011

Did this get bought by Nortons or AOL , just seems to be as bloated and unstable as they are.

What the hell were the devs thinking (or not thinking) ?

Adaware went down this route now we loose an even better app :(

LOVESpybotSandD reviewed v1.6.2.46 on May 12, 2011

For all people who think this is a outdated program it is not, it saved my computer from a virus that about 30+ anti-malware and spyware programs could not. (the virus was Win 7 desktop security)
This easily removed the virus, which had edited the registry to the point that the computer could not start a program, run Windows Restore from the bios etc.
I have run this on 6 PCs that Mcafee did not find anything on, SpyBot found an average of 14 virus, malware and adware programs on the computers.
On a scale of one to ten I give this a 15.

Hilbert reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 12, 2011

This v2 beta of Spybot S&D is seriously flawed. I installed it on two separate XPsp3 machines and none of its modules/parts ran.

However, loaded Spybot files fully consumed the resources of the machines, CPU loading was essentially 100% (to the the extent that I had difficulty loading the Task Manager to terminate the processes.)

BTW, I'm familiar with earlier versions of Spybot S&D (1.6.2 etc.), this version-2 beta bears no resemblance to earlier ones.

craigun reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 12, 2011

Missing files? This thing is junk.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 12, 2011

no not this !!!!!!!
very beta
can not un-install

niknetpc reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 12, 2011

Dinosaur still here,become a new hit of the year..;) BUT..

nvic reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 12, 2011

Dang...this thing went downhill between 1.6.2 and 2.0...it grew from ~30MB to over 150MB and became bloatware. My antivirus (with the database!) is smaller. This thing is going the way of AVG and AdAware...

I used to like spybot because it was fast, had a lot of useful tools (the startup tool especially), and didn't need to have background processes. This had 3 by default (didn't change any settings in installation). At least they included a services window where you can turn off what you don't want.

Some things to fix: updater crashed after update, and the malware scanner froze the system when I tried to cancel it. Running XP SP3.

On the upside, the bootable CD option looks promising, the rootkit scanner is nice, and it detected PaleMoon as an installed browser (first AS app I've used that did so).

I'll give it a 3 for now...only because of the bloat.

Sativarg reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 12, 2011

@abraxisr
Did you restart windows after the install?

I did and I have Windows XP SP3, the program seems to be running fine

abraxisr reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 11, 2011

i can not install it, xp sp3. 4 times now says i am missing files + 2 retry, should never have uninstalled the old one.
the installer just says retry abort ignore. i tried retry that didn't work so i just ignore, then it doesn't work, it says files r missing. yes i restarted it still says files r missing? (during the install)?

reets reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 11, 2011

Looks nice. Couple notes so far for the creators.

1. "Business" is spelled wrong on the 2nd screen of the installer.
2. SDUpdate.exe (i think) crashed after updating was completed.

war593122 reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 11, 2011

Looking good.

Though looks like "Immunization" still does NOT support Google Chrome though.

Blue Joker reviewed v2.0.3 Beta 1 on May 11, 2011

One of the best antispyware and spyware shield out there :D

RobLDunn reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Mar 26, 2011

For those of you who dont know spy bot is NOT just for removing spy ware i am a professional PC tech and this little program is a LIFE saver at times its small and compact will run in windows PE and lets you REMOVE the registry link to the male ware yes MANUALLY but lets be real its what 4 clicks to remove more then a few of them. This program if you go to advanced has MANY functions that are use still no i don't use it so much for male ware any more but it is by FAR still one of the most useful programs i have its the ONLY free one i can set up to run in PE that will let me change start up files in every windows based system. For those want SHEER male ware removal use Malwarebytes' by far the best out there and it FREE for the basic but this program still has it uses

mmmmpower reviewed v1.6.3.51 Beta on Feb 25, 2011

long history of awesomeness

any "review" that claims there are 'better tools' but cannot be bothered to enumerate those tools is as useless as the reviewer is feckless

much as with antivirus the tool cannot properly clean an infected workstation running within the infected operating system -- effective use is beyond the reach of casual users

lrnewto reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Dec 6, 2010

The best freeware. I have not found a problem it could not fix. Dis-connect from the internet and run in safe mode. I have found nothing it will not remove. Great
program.

edd3800 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Dec 4, 2010

This program is way past it's prime. In using to remove spyware it seems to have a hard time finding real spyware. It labels many weak items as spyware. It won't touch any hard to remove items. There are much better choices out there.

ThaRAR reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Nov 29, 2010

It is a good product. Easy to use, and takes care of the problem .

ajojio reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Nov 13, 2010

Amazing; Power-packed still genuine & free; Most Useful things in the world are FREE; aren't? And Safer Networking deserves A Big Clap for their great contribution to the netizens! Congratulations!! let ur service continue to nextgen.

robbybeth333 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Oct 12, 2010

Best free spyware remover program. Cant believe its free.

ajaxsoda reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Sep 19, 2010

I want to recommend this programm. It can search all the bad things on your computer. It also has a lot of functions for advanced users such as changing startup applications, etc.
With teatimer you can control registry changings, deny or allow changes.

I really recommend this program for everyone.

zNycz
www.tdarea.com

lehenryjr reviewed v1.6.2.46 on May 4, 2010

I use and recommend SSD every chance I get. One of the things I love about the SSD is the command-line option; so you can schedule it. The auto check, auto run and auto close seem to work almost flawlessly. It's portable too; copy the files to a jumpdrive and then it's portable. The teatimer application is great when you're working on removing stubborn malware. And you can't beat the price...

Recommended.

LHenryJr.
www.lehsys.com

notorious_rn reviewed v1.6.3.51 Beta on Apr 25, 2010

@cover:
you need to install the stable version of the Spybot, then copy paste the beta file to the main file of the spybot search and destroy (usually C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\). this you could use the beta program.

try to go to the main website of the programs forum.

http://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=37

no changes noted with the stable version.

Colin Beckman reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Apr 22, 2010

I ahve been using spybot for a few years now and it has saved my computers time and time again where mcafee failed.
But now a malware called digitalprotection has ended spybots rein as it has not been able to stop it.

KENSHIN reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Apr 14, 2010

Why the confusion over 'administrator'? I want to immunize, not run for office.
And since I'm not the administrator, it sits there running for over 3 hours with no way to shut it down.

OnlyTemp reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Mar 31, 2010

It has plenty of functions and is absolutely free to use.

chenzhen reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Mar 28, 2010

nice

auto reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Mar 19, 2010

This Application is simply awesome. In conjunction with a good Antivirus you could have a very good protection. It is not a hands free solution but worked best for me.

BookGlutton reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Feb 9, 2010

Spybot and its counterpart Spywareblaster are simply the most effective components you can install on your system in addition to, and once you have defended it with, good anti-virus real-time protection. Neither, by itself, will sufficiently protect your computer(s). Since 2003 when PC Magazine first recommended it, I have been using it, setting up new compueters with it, and recommending it to everyone who asks me about shielding their computer from the menaces that can invade their home & business computers. Although a computer may be infected with 100's of instances of spyware, malware, and the like, once cleaned with Spybot, regular use of (updated) Spybot and Spywareblaster, with up-to-date virus protection, will keep a computer cleaner than anything I have seen sold on the market thus far. Besides, it's free! You have nothing to lose by trying it, even if you are using some type of spyware/malware protection already. You might be surprised at what you find in the first Search & Destroy run!

Timewarpone reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Feb 5, 2010

Awesome program !!!. Found many issues and addressed them that my other programs did not. Very easy to use. Doesn't slow my computer down, updates easily & I set it to run programmed scans twice a week. (The scan process is a little slow but I have a 300gb hard drive that is always 75% full on average) NOW I feel fully protected. Especially aginst spyware. I use this program with both my computers running Vista Ultimate 32 bit & Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit. Works like a charm.

dollbaby reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Feb 4, 2010

Makes me sick to know how much money my family and myself have waisted on other protection. Spybot is very helpful and simple to use. When I had macafee it slowed my comp down so much always had crashes.I get this and it found 227 viruses that macafee didnt. Spybot makes me and my family feel safer now browesing the net. Thanks Spybot!!! You are a great cause.

elkal000 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jan 13, 2010

Scans a bit slow, but it's still good anti spyware IMHO.

boelectronic reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Dec 31, 2009

this old program is not good anymore, the database is outdated and not covering new kind of malwares very well, Immunization system is full of outdated and addresses which does not work anymore. scan is very very slow and takes ages, detection is poor, TeaTimer is a buggy part of it which cause too much slow down in systems which does not worth because it has not enough monitors. in compare to MBAM, SUPERAntiSpyware or Spyware Terminator is has nothing good to bring!

jamesbonde reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Dec 30, 2009

very good

bobthebuilder reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Nov 22, 2009

spybot has been consistently doing a great job of keeping pc's running spyware free and continues to do so! i have used spybot for many years now and it is far better than alot of the anti virus spyware addons. i would also like to add that when you download this program make sure you give the program full administrater rights so that it can do what it needs to. Another tip for people is in internet explorer or other browser if it has this function, go to internet options, advanced, and tick the box for empty temporary internet files on browser exit, this can stop some stuff that adds itself to this folder being able to install itself. well done spybot keep up the good work.

timbo44 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Nov 9, 2009

The old version worked PERFECTLY. The new version I downloaded, v 1.6.2.46 will not detect ANYTHING! I can't get it to start correctly, the screen "flashes" for less than a second, so it never allows me to select the nearest update site. I then restart it a second time (I downloaded a file to search for "CoolWebSearch" virus and I DO NOT have that on my computer) and it seems to operate like the old version, but then ALWAYS ALWAYS tells me that it didn't detect anything, where as the old version ALWAYS ALWAYS found some adware, tracking cookies, etc. I repeat: the old version worked perfectly, the new version is a dud.

Aidans.Granny reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Nov 5, 2009

Spybot is by far the best app I ever used. I love it!
My PC has been down for 2 years and here i am first thing getting It!
That proves its a great app! After 2 years it is still on top with the best!
My hats off to ya!

diasol reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Oct 23, 2009

hola

finnlayer reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Sep 21, 2009

good a finding spyware and malware and hidden bugs, problem with it - very dam slow, found a trojen and app asked for me to load spybot with windows to scan for infection, so i expected for spybot to load up at boot, soon after it done a scan for bugs got half way fru scan found the trojen and the computer swiched of, trun pc on agin - booting up and die again.

spybot has a good job at deling virus but makes your pc die after it has found nasty bugs. I still think spybot is a good app even fru it del bug and killed the working life of the pc.

tholmes reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Aug 10, 2009

Been using for years and I have never had a problem with it..It keeps my computer running smooth and clean..

aalejandro reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Aug 4, 2009

thanks

teeekay reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jul 18, 2009

It is now 10 years since I started using Spybot Search and Destroy. For one, this is the best, most effective program of its kind available. For two, it is not owned by some Cybergiantquest or Symmegaconglomerate takover company who take over good programs and turn them into cash cow clones. It is run by people like you and me who actually care and do the best job possible. You cannot go wrong with Spybot

drymetal reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jul 14, 2009

SpyBot Search & Destroy is a necessity for anyone who wants to keep their computer clean. I’ve been using it now for well over 6 years and it has not let me down yet. The program interface is easy enough to use and I have had no problem in showing others how to use it on a regular basis. E.g. My Grandmother, Mom, etc.

The thing about SpyBot is that it is free. It is absolutely free and that just blows me away. I mean, even when I have purchased software on my computer such as OneCare, McAfee, Norton, etc – I always end up re-installing SpyBot, because it can always help me out of an unexpected bind. It just goes to show that there is a lesson to be learned here in the quality you get when there isn’t a huge corporation dictating the path software should take.

The installation of SpyBot is pretty easy. You’ll more than likely want to install it with all of the settings defaulted. After installation – it will start up and then it gives you a little box to do a couple things. (This is only done once) First, you can backup your registry. Then it will ask you if you want to check for updates – at which you can download them.

For some reason, whenever you are about to download updates – it never defaults with English Descriptions checked. I am not really sure why the developer decided on that. (English Descriptions give you information about things SpyBot finds on your computer)

Then you are in SpyBot. And what a beautiful program it is. It gives you plenty of options to help protect your computer and even more when you run it in advanced mode. You’ll probably want to learn about all of these features as some of them have proved to be things I have come to depend on.

SpyBot is by far one of the most reliable programs on the market – and it is free. You simply cannot go wrong with it. And I have found over the past couple months that spyware is rampant at sites like FaceBook. Just take this quiz here and next thing you know – you have mywebsearch on your computer. (One of the most difficult to remove) Or even worse – I have seen numerous people using Yahoo or MSN messenger and guess what? They have all these pretty emoticons to show in their chats. (Sparkling LOL and stuff) and you guessed it – all of this is Spyware.

With Spyware getting more creative and websites becoming more accepting of it being allowed on their webpages – you need protection. As I said – SpyBot is a necessity if you want a computer that stays clean and reliable. Do yourself a favor and download it today.

13sonya1990 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jul 12, 2009

uogbklhlh

Neobyte_01 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jul 10, 2009

Mistakes edited out

spybotStefan reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jun 15, 2009

Reply to User Bridger:

The program you downloaded can not be Spybot-Search & Destroy. You probably clicked on a advert instead of the download button and got the wrong software.

Spybot - Search & Destroy is completely free of charge for home users and we offer free email support and a free support forum. There is no such thing as a "3 year VIP account" for Spybot Search & Destroy. We also do not offer phone support (there is a third party firm that officially does though). We have no relations with call centers in India.

You must have been using a different software. You review has nothing to do with Spybot - Search & Destroy.

Bridger reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jun 13, 2009

Total scam. I downloaded and bought 3 year VIP account in May. Been trying to get it to work up til today with no luck. Emailing their "24/7" tech support (via their online form) returns the autoresponder: "no such address exists." Calling their tech support number gets you a "billing services" agency somewhere in Bangalore or some place, who cannot help with anything but acct info. They offer to have the company "send an email" with the same "tech support link", but you cannot speak to a live customer service tech rep. I cancelled the acct and will spend my money with a real company.

Viking reviewed v1.6.2.46 on May 8, 2009

Even if the program is slow I have found that it finds things that are missed by Ad-Aware. I have used both ones for a long time.
Of course improvements is wanted but I have to say that program does what it's expected to do.
I'm using a paid version of antivirus program but it don't detect and remove all trojans and stuff. That's why I'm happy that Spybot exist.

wisjnoe reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Apr 14, 2009

This Spybot - Search & Destroy is best program to detect remove safely any spyware than others. I always use it for complicated computer's problem such as worm form internet site.

friedemann reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Apr 3, 2009

While the program is slow and methodical in its checking, it finds things that are missed by other antispyware programs. Even including the fact that some of these so called antispyware programs themselves are malware. It has been around a long time.
One would have expected their setup and update methodology to be easier to navigate through...but it hasn't changed. It still bugs me after 15 years of use. It is just different - but definitely could be improved upon. And because of that alone I cannot give them a high rating.
Slow yes, but it does not take over your machine(like some of them do) so you can minimize it while it is working and do your work.
The difficulty it has with Ad-Aware --I would like them to get that conflict cleaned up.
Other than that it does its job. (without introducing spyware into your machine and trying to trick you into buying the product)

sehnbadt reviewed v1.6.3.51 Beta on Mar 30, 2009

Note from the publisher's website:

Beta updates for the main executable file of Spybot - Search & Destroy.

To use this beta file, extract the downloaded archive into the main application folder (usually C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\).

GSMAN reviewed v1.6.3.51 Beta on Mar 16, 2009

Same as the last one, its just the executable, dump it in the programs directory overwriting the exsisting one ore you can rename the exe first.
Its for us BETA testers........................

Text below is from their site;
(SpybotSD.exe and advcheck.dll, note these files are for experienced users only and do not contain a full Spybot-S&D installation package)

Zoroaster reviewed v1.6.3.51 Beta on Mar 16, 2009

How can this version 1.6.3.51 Beta size 2,441 kB whilst present stable version 1.6.246 is more than 16,000 kB ?
Rating is for stable version.

coover reviewed v1.6.3.51 Beta on Mar 16, 2009

Are you sure this download comes from Spybot S & D ? It has completely messed up Spybot so that I cannot use it. It looks more like a Trojan intended to mess up security on the computer, rather than help it. If this actually comes from Spybot, somebody there has really messed up

gdod25 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Mar 13, 2009

Spybot is good. I took someones advice and tried spywareblaster, had to uninstall and am dealing with left over problems. eclipsingdivinity my as-.

PennSta39 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Mar 10, 2009

Excellent free malware, spyware, and trojan remover. Will not prevent your computer from becoming infected(tea timer does help), but this program finds and removes virus's that the antivirus program we use at work does not find or remove ALL the time. have fixed many a machine with this program. Kudos to the safer-networking team!

sn0wflake reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Mar 9, 2009

Horrible interface and slow at scanning. Good at cleaning an infected PC but no point in having this installed.

plum reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Feb 24, 2009

This is a good spyware protection...i have been using this app along with other anti-spyware but I believe that this app has been overrated....It is good but not the best.
---
My blog: http://www.webhostingr.net

eclipsingdivinity reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Feb 12, 2009

I think Spybot has recieved a high rating from a lot of users here simply because of their nostalgia for what the product USED to be like. Simply put, this software doesn't detect malware very well, it has an outdated GUI and nothing has been done to advance it forward.

It's solid, stable and the immunization is nice, but Spywareblaster specifies in immunization and does it better. Teatimer is nice, but there are many HIPs programs, behavior analysis programs that cover a larger basis.

Each part of Spybot is done better for free by another company, and if you step back, there's really no reason to have the program taking up space on your machine.

el flab reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Feb 2, 2009

This is a nice tool to put on a jump drive. I plug it in and run it when cleaning machines. I then follow it up with 'streams' from sysinternals. It makes a nice first step to pick up the speed of a machine loaded with malware. It is not an end-all complete tool, but nothing is.

myboy reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jan 31, 2009

GerritWittesaele its painfully obvious you're doing marketing and not actually writing a review.

Spybot is one of the best niche tools available publicly to date. I've used it for as long as I can remember and it has always been an integral part of my computer use. Of course it isn't perfect and does miss a decent amount of files in scanning, but I personally consider the scan portion of SpyBot to be a secondary option. I use SpyBot for it's Immunization tool. That is the core essence of the program. The GUI and intuitive design is rather nice as well, but doesn't do anything other than make its usage easier for the less technologically savvy.

-----------------------------------------
http://www.un-poker-gratuit.fr

keiichi999 reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jan 27, 2009

it still beta?
beacuse I can only download 1.60 from oficial website...

GerritWittesaele reviewed v1.6.2.46 on Jan 26, 2009

Has a very low detection rate, even worse recovery rate, and is slow is a snail.

Sativarg reviewed v1.6.1.44 on Jan 26, 2009

RE:underscore's low rating.
Detection range doubled in the past six months

I believe this is a Beta version.
Member of Team Spybot: PepiMK said

Wait a few hours for 1.6.2

The .45 build was the one intended to be released, and we're updating the release number to 1.6.2 to avoid a mixup and questions re 1.6.1.44 and 1.6.1.45. Once the version number has been completetely updated, it should be available as 1.6.2

Rafel reviewed v1.6.1.44 on Jan 26, 2009

An old friend ever will be in my comp.

BarneyR reviewed v1.6.1.44 on Jan 26, 2009

underscore = clueless

Must have for all of its utilities.

underscore reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jan 12, 2009

I can't believe this pops up as a most popular download of the week. 6 Years ago, yes, this was the best of the best, but for years now its been hardly updated, and it misses tons of spyware. It's a shame so many people seem to rely on it, when it holds no real value over its name.

decii reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jan 4, 2009

To solve the problem when appear messages like "Error by downloading updates" or "bad checksum":
go to Update, change the mirror server and update again.
It works for me.

egg83 reviewed v1.6.1.41 Beta on Dec 18, 2008

Have used this for years to clean spyware and other malware from many people's PC's with much success. Immunization works like a charm once an infected PC has been cleaned with this product, as it will prevent future outbreaks of spyware on ones PC. One of my all time favorite software, paid or freeware.

Scipio reviewed v1.6.1.41 Beta on Dec 18, 2008

Still the best. For a while back there it got a little slow, but they fixed it. Big contrast with AdAware, which got more and more bloated and unusable.

I haven't gotten any spyware past the shields for a couple of years now, knock on wood. I also use SpywareBlaster, but I think Spybot is my main protection.

Pfurri reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 18, 2008

Good tool, but needs to much time for a normal system-check !

Aegis69 reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 18, 2008

I use it mainly now for the immunization, if bad stuff cannot get on a computer in the first place, then there is usually nothing to clean. Which is good.

horsecharles reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 18, 2008

What do folks do to get so much malware?

I haven't gotten malware in many years 'on many AND simultaneously multiple' systems....and i go anywhere / everywhere i want....

Spybot shouldn't just be thought of as a malware scanner-- it's much more multi-faceted: has tons of internal modules that are very, very useful / take the place of other needed apps-- from uninstallers to optimizers to protectors to cleaners...to.... my favorite module is System Internals-- which corrects the countless errors of install & uninstall routines.

And what i love about this release is that it eliminates false positive alarm of my software updater app(that spybot needs updating).

harlan4096 reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 18, 2008

A-squad is the KING of false positives with Ikarus engine.

madmike reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 18, 2008

Still the best:)

gehtnix reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 18, 2008

I really would like to rate "5", but unfortunately
spybot (with latest updates loaded) found NOTHING* on my system, while a-squared had found 6 security threats 4 of them marked as "high risk" (malware/trojan(-droppers).

I always loved Spybot and i really would like to see it getting improved.

PicAFlic reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 17, 2008

Spybot is one and always sill be one of the greatest spyware scanners out there. It maybe slower then the others, but this is one of the most through scanners I know, and it's free.

Lawrence01 reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 17, 2008

I like this program, it may be slower than others, but are the others as thorough as this?

some guy reviewed v1.6.1.38 Beta on Nov 17, 2008

Spybot use to good in it's day but now I find them very out dated. The scan engine has to be one of the slowest I have used. Their are just to many other out their that I find better then to keep this one on my system

frankingsteins reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Nov 5, 2008

When I try to update my Spybot S&D I keep getting !bad checksum!!! What does this mean and how do I correct it?

etalmar reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Sep 16, 2008

Version 1.6.0.30 is OK, but not nearly as good as this product used to be. Have been using Spybot SD for years, but this latest version takes a whopping *58* mins to scan my system, which is far too long.

Add to that, the fact that the download is 14.38 MB and most weekly updates are usually a few MBs worth of data combined, so this app has really gotten quite bloated overall. I have since moved this program off of my PC on to a flash drive and will only scan with it if my system acts weird.

tfantastico reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Aug 8, 2008

I have a problem.
Everytime i want to search for updates it gives me the message "Error by downloading updates".
Can anybody help me out?

Kylde reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jul 9, 2008

BSOD on reboot after install, I'll pass on this version :)

mdn777901 reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jul 9, 2008

It it compatable with Vista? I just see win9x, 2000, and XP. I see no Vista?

elitegangsta reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jul 8, 2008

Yanaicka, where did you get you information? 0.003%??? you must have made that up. In most current tests, SpyBot performed at an impressive 80% for spyware and 70% for rootkits, above norton, pc cillin, and just under spy sweeper. I've used SpyBot for years, and never have i had an issue with spyware, rootkits, or aything else of the like slowing down my system or causing a single problem. Plus, the immunization feature is flawless in my experience. Why not use a free product that prevents you from even getting malware to begin with?? especially at an 80% accuracy rating... seems pretty damn good to me. I'll keep using it for the time being. Solid app with a solid support group and great programmer behind it.

victor4461 reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jul 8, 2008

this 1.6 version is way better then the 1.5, it uses way less resources. This new 1.6 version runs smoothly like it should be....without any fans turning on..i am very impressed. the scan was pretty darn good .... People must realize the bigger the hard drive the longer the scan...
way to go Spybot Search and Destroy keep up the good work...

Yanaicka reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jul 8, 2008

Scan times are improved indeed, but at the end of the story, this program doesn't detect anything.

It currently recognizes about 0.0003% of current malware.

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jul 8, 2008

Scan took 7 minutes on a year old core2duo.

The immunization feature should be taken out, it is fairly useless and can screw up IE/Outlook, as all those addresses reduce performance.

Daddy_Spank reviewed v1.6.0.30 on Jul 8, 2008

yay, finally final! Great app that I use a lot. I only wish scan would be a bit quicker.

us3r reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 2 on Jul 8, 2008

Built-in startup editor sucks. I checked only one thing to delete and it removed the whole starup list. Fortunately, I've got the Windows' restore point not far before spybot 1.6 RC2 installation.
As for the basic features, I mean scan on demand and immunize, they are very good.

tonyjp reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 2 on Jul 5, 2008

spybot 1.6 works well swear by it for years still waiting on much better software it never shows up except my f-secure

some guy reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 2 on Jul 4, 2008

nice you can never have enough of these maleware scaners I would personal use Linux to browse the internet then you need none lol

for the moron that said Kasperksy found something get a job this is clean
http://www.virustotal.co...943184b91a8be1e3d746ddf

poeg reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 2 on Jul 4, 2008

Sure its not on Castlecops site of which I see others visit also (been reading security since Lord Oak and The Poisen were breakfast reading) but it has found what both Superantispyware and malwarebytes have themselves missed so none is the malware panacea, oh well... That said it has no problems with either my Nod32 machines nor my Kaspersky so any issues with it in regard to these two would have to be subjective. All in all another stellar bit of work from a well aquainted malware prybar.

anonymous_user reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 2 on Jul 4, 2008

One of the best? Spybot has been surpassed by newer programs like SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

Stevefarrell reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 2 on Jul 4, 2008

Did I say the one and only best? anyway Combine Spybot with AVG 8 and you got anti malware . anti rootkit and an Antivirus with antispyware inckluded in AVG 8. Since ive been using AVG and Spybot together I hevent gotten any spyware or viruses. I do chek ocasionaly with other AV and antispyware software just incase I get infected.

TGB72 reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 2 on Jul 3, 2008

Pro: Scans much faster than previous versions
Con: Right clic over any file and select properties, go to Spyboot tab and then close the properties window, explorer.exe will crash. Uninstall Spyboot and the problem will disappear.

Now that many AV comes with spyware and rootkit detection (including free ones like Avast) this kind of progs are becoming a little unnecessary.

thartist reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 2 on Jul 3, 2008

i wonder what was making it so unusably slow before that was so deeply corrected now...

joeshmoe7 reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 1 on Jun 30, 2008

Wow for a while now the slow scanning was driving me nuts. Now, its wayyyyy faster. Nice work.

robmanic44 reviewed v1.6 Release Candidate 1 on Jun 30, 2008

If you use NOD32, which has an anti-spyware component, you don't really need this. Their anti-spyware is as good as their anti-virus. If NOD32 finds no problems, the 3 anti-spyware programs I've tried also find nothing.

Undesired Username reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jun 23, 2008

Roj is correct and it's even worse than he lets on. Spybot is outdated not just in terms of its defs but in its entire approach and technology. The latest trojans and rootkits laugh at this dinosaur and anyone who continues to rely on it, as do I.

leofelix reviewed v1.6.0.26 Beta 2 on Jun 23, 2008

it's out of beta;)
Please take a look

http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=29452

"Distributed Testing, updated to 1.6 and leaving beta status"

Aegis69 reviewed v1.6.0.26 Beta 2 on Jun 19, 2008

Genius, 1.6 beta is a thousand times faster for scanning. Cannot wait till 1.6 final is out.

McAleck reviewed v1.6.0.25 Beta on Jun 6, 2008

CPU load is still through the roof!

SaferNetworking reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jun 6, 2008

@roj: you seem to "the author" is a single person (listed by name only here on BetaNews is a bit misleading I admit), and one person really couldn't keep up - but there's actually a larger team creating detection updates.

Anyway, if you take a look at the latest news on the Spybot website, there are still some TBAs open for 1.6 ;)

skapig reviewed v1.6.0.25 Beta on Jun 5, 2008

Still solid and there's a decent improvement in scan time.

It's very rare for something to get through on my system, but it's a very valuable utility to have for cleaning up other people's systems.

Soozy reviewed v1.6.0.25 Beta on Jun 5, 2008

Great improvement in the scan time.

roj reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jun 3, 2008

Completely ineffectual program.

Why?

Because the author cannot hope to keep up with the latest and greatest of weirdness that is out there.

The premise behind the program is sound but it suffers form hopelessly outdated defs.

THREE stars for a program that, while built on sound principles, offers only the illusion of safety.

^Selene^ reviewed v1.5.2.20 on May 31, 2008

A very good program. I always used it, and I think it's pretty nice and easy to use.

poeg reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Apr 16, 2008

Been using this and others from day 1. Best scanner for a messed up rig next to making yourself a portable Spyware Doctor. Works like a champ in safe mode. If granny can't handle clicking a few buttons once a week to scrape the barnacles off her hull from all that surfing, get her an Etch-A-Sketch.

ViceMajor reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Mar 10, 2008

It's a great spyware scanner; and TeaTimer resident scanner does run in the background. If your unhappy with this great free product go buy someone elses commercail version, I'll save my $$. I've used Spybot for years with no problem! For the price I can push the run button once a week to check for updates and let it run.

maxnorris reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Feb 26, 2008

For what it does, it does very well. It's a great spyware scanner; that's it.

Contrary to the previous reviewer (please try it before reviewing..) , SpyBot *does* run in the background. The TeaTimer resident scanner runs in the background scanning for known spyware, important registry changes, startup changes, ActiveX installations, etc. Combine that with your antivirus/firewall application, and your system is quite secure.

dhry reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Feb 24, 2008

Not great. The scanning takes FOREVER - way way WAY too long. Plus you have to manually initiate a scan. That's totally yesterday. SpywareTerminator runs in the background, has a HIPS system, is low on resource usage and has a stack of very useful subfeatures including a website guard for when you install it on your grandparents' machine. The time of Spybot and programs like it such as AdAware is long-since past.

jon8rfc reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Feb 2, 2008

"Still one of the best", is very accurate when comparing anti-spy/ad/malware products.

This version comes packaged with HOSTS file modification to block shareaza.com, which has been an illegitimate website for many weeks now...the REAL Shareaza does not use that domain anymore. This is an excellent job on SpyBot's part to update so quickly, and the MVPS.org HOSTS file doesn't cover it yet!

Five thumbs up to SpyBot.

lalf reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jan 30, 2008

Still one of the best of the remaining free anti-spyware software. While it's detection rate could be improved upon, there is ample opportunity to send in samples and get quick feed-back on their forum:

http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=4

Highly recommended!

/lalf

Blue Joker reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jan 30, 2008

Its scanning detection is pathetic ,
the other options may be valid though...

Kylde reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jan 30, 2008

still hits 100% cpu usage here, Athlon 2.8, xp pro, 2gb ram

joeshmoe7 reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jan 29, 2008

Pretty good, really cant beat it for the price.
Although i still prefer spywareblaster for immunization, and don't bother with the real time protection, as i have anti-virus w/spyware protection. But this is great for an infected machine, if run from a PE disk like the "ultimate boot cd for windows", along with other tools this is definitely one too keep on hand.

terracesider reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jan 29, 2008

This release seems to have solved the major problems with 1.4: slow running and the wonky Tea Timer graphics. It did a full scan in 20 minutes and never used more than 50% of CPU; most of that was "borrowed" from SETI.

It is much more than spyware scanner. In addition to real time protection from the abysmally named but effective Tea Timer it also has a shredder, and system start up and uninstall utilities.

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jan 29, 2008

Slow. On older machines scans can take hours.
Interface is vastly in need of improvement. Just updating the thing is a complete mess of confusion.
The immunize function has design flaws. Putting sites in restricted zones breaks a lot and does little to prevent malware. (new sites/domains are created by the thousands daily.)

KRome reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jan 29, 2008

so ugly. it works...but ugly.

arossetti reviewed v1.5.2.20 on Jan 29, 2008

Old news? Ummm...no. There has been a 1.5.2 RC (1.5.19) out for a few weeks, but not the final. Also, the program works wonderfully! This and Spywareblaster are two must haves.

McAleck reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Jan 24, 2008

cpu usage is insane and the application itself has become very sluggish recently

Adrian79 reviewed v1.5.1.19 RC1 on Jan 8, 2008

always works, will test on my new vista box

improvelence reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Nov 21, 2007

Its not perfect but it does help for SOME problems. The real solution to the spyware problem is to not download spyware. I never have, so its really not that hard. Read, use proper judgement, PAY ATTENTION, dont just CLICK CLICK CLICK everything. I do use this when cleaning other peoples machines, though it is far from the only tool needed. Also, if you want to skip half the hurdle...dont use IE. Dont use OE. To the guy saying this killed a critical DLL and he had to reinstall, your problem sounds more like your own than the softwares. There is not one DLL that is going to make your system un-recoverable and besides, how do you know this? If you did you should have been able to easily fix the problem on your own by replacing this DLL that you somehow know exactly what it is yet cant fix it??. I have never had spybot or any program for that matter force me to have to reformat. Lets not make up lies about software to cover up our follies. Also I have just tested this on a system with a Marvel Yukon onboard card and it did not flag it as spyware. I have never heard of such a thing. I give it a 3 because its clunky and they are slow to fix glitches, plus it only works for about 50% of things.

Point Zero reviewed v1.5.1.18 Beta 2 on Nov 20, 2007

Yet again, a very nice and thorough product ! And free !

Dwiebelhaus reviewed v1.5.1.18 Beta 2 on Nov 19, 2007

The performance needs to be evaluated otherwise still working , where the hell is the Linux version so we can scan external windows partitions?

Scipio reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Oct 23, 2007

Thanks for the word about the bug fix in version 1.5.15. It updates it to 16.

But I don't understand why Spybot doesn't show an update download for this problem. It was so bad I was thinking of getting rid of the program, which I like very much and have always rated highly.

This fix should really be made available through the update function, so more people will know about it. Otherwise they risk driving people away.

some guy reviewed v1.5.1.17 Beta Helloween Edition on Oct 9, 2007

ok this is spooky I see no difference between the last one.

get it spooky :)

CharlieGimbert reviewed v1.5.1.17 Beta Helloween Edition on Oct 9, 2007

Helloween edition? Hope this still works fine....

Joseph A reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 27, 2007

To the reviewers below: I also had the slow startup problem but it has been solved. The solution can be found at

http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=18309

I tried it and it has worked well. Be sure to read the "2007-09-24, 17:58" and "2007-09-25, 16:23" messages from "spybotsandra" for precise instructions.

lion7718 reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 27, 2007

@Joseph A:
Thanks, made a big differance. I should have gone to the Forums myself, I usually do.

I've always loved Spybot..still do.
Being used to 1.4, I installed 1.5 on my new system..the new system is 3 times faster..so Spybot scans faster than before, but it starts up slow as hell..more than twice as long as 1.4. I hope they fix this soon.

Point Zero reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 21, 2007

Score updated. Thanks Joseph A.

HansUpp reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 21, 2007

Just installed it so no opinions on using it yet.

But I did notice that in the "advanced" level toolbox the "secure shredder" has gone. I feel that's a shame because I did like that little tool and used it quite a lot.

kbsoftware reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 5, 2007

I installed and went through the wizard (which runs automatically during install) did all the steps and then rebooted. Now when I run firefox and have a few tabs open there is a delay to switch between tabs, sometimes up to 3 seconds long. That sucks.
So I ran spybot undid all the changes and then uninstalled it, after the reboot the tabs on firefox are no fast as they should be.
I'll wait for the next update before reinstalling hoping they fixed this problem.

nukefixer1 reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

Great program, works as advertised, although I have problems running the beta?

alanpalmer reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

An excellent application that I've used for several years now without problems. I recently moved to Vista (not my idea, honest!) and the latest version seems to run as well if not better than before.

Canuckistani reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

The beta was quite sluggish but this final performs acceptably on my modest machine. Not snappy by any means but acceptable and that's good enough. However, I do have one small complaint. The priority setting is not readily available and one has to go into advanced mode/settings to change it. I'm sure reasoning for this is that when Spybot S&D is first installed on a click happy users computer there is such a big mess to clean up they shouldn't be web browsing or whatever anyway. But it is annoying when I run my weekly "just to be safe" scan and opening other programs takes geological time by default. It would be nice to have the priority setting readily available in, say, the Mode drop down menu. No big deal and doesn't effect my rating in any way but I think some users might be a bit put off by it.

bobad reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

Great program. Great detection.

The GUI is showing its age, and it makes certain settings a bit too difficult. For example, it's too hard to ignore cookies, and ignore Windows XP Security settings. You have to drill down into the menus to get at them when they should be right on top. Updating from the previous release (very minor) asked for a reboot, and I don't even use the resident scanner (Teatimer). S&D re-downloaded a gazillion updates which were already downloaded.

My main wish is that it would retain the settings in an INI file, and thus be totally portable. After all this time, I guess that will never happen, and there will always be lots of registry bloat.

tantawi reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

@Steve:

It's the stupid Norton fault, the Spybot update app is named "SDUpdate", so Norton assumes it's Smart Draw lol.

Dump Norton and you will gain system speed like upgrading the CPU and RAM :)

SteveJohnSteele reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

has anyone else notice that when Spybot updates, Norton Internet Security says "allow Smart Draw ..."?

did someone use code from another project and forget to rename a file?

gehtnix reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

Kylde, did you just try to load the updates from
another server? i know that spybot loads updates
very slow from some servers while other servers
update very fast.
i rate spybot 5 though it isn't perfect, just as any
other spyware detecting tool isn't perfect.
But spybot gives good results, i like the "immunize"
feature while the tea timer still seems to be buggy.
Using windows machines in a network, running them
as admin, means: you can't rely on a single appli-
cation to protect your system. you need a good com-
bination of applications, and to me spybot is one
of those tools that should be included. i rate
it 5 for being freeware / donationware. i'd rate
it 3 or 4 if it was commercial.

Kylde reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

don't like it, the update is enigmatic to say the least, either nothing happens or a brief screen flashes into view, takes more cpu than 1.4, auto-update and scan settings seem to be ignored, a step backward IMHO

mickrussom reviewed v1.5.1.15 on Sep 4, 2007

Required on every install, this program is lightweight, effective, and a gold standard. May the powers that be shine good fortune upon those who make this software.

Tao2005 reviewed v1.5.1.14 RC1 on Aug 27, 2007

Well, Well, Well, bout time. Any how spybot is a good spy program. Though some traits still exhist in 1.5, that was in 1.4. Still should we talk down at Spybot. Sure tea timer is a pain in the but.. Always has been.

Tea Timer, freezes your registery, until you grant the install program to modify it. I only used it once, and it kept bothering me.

Yeah sure it has glitches. Every program has glitches. Take windows for example, I have about a half dozen hotfixes and 30 or 40 security patches. Take alook at how often windows updates.

Just thank god that spybot isn't that bad. Windows xp/vista, is chop loaded with glitches. I get mad everytime it downloads a patch or a fix. DOS didn't have this problem.

Just be thankful that spybot isn't as bad as windows. If it was then I wouldn't be giving it a 5. Still Spybot is cool.

Roberto Locatelli reviewed v1.4 on Aug 26, 2007

It’s a very good program, very simple and very efficient.

It really protects my machine against a lot of plagues.

And note: it comes with options for several idioms, including Portuguese, my native language.

jazzyspaula reviewed v1.4 on Jul 30, 2007

I love this little program...it's extremely easy to use, and best of all, it's free! I've been using it for several years now, and every time I've purchased a new computer (for my kids) I download this program as a matter of course, to help keep them problem-free for awhile, at least!KUDO's to the writers of this program!

PicAFlic reviewed v1.5.1.13 Beta on Jul 12, 2007

Awesome program, a must have. Nice new Immunize page and new skin. I don't use the TeaTimer personally, so I give it a 5.

Reverb reviewed v1.5.1.13 Beta on Jul 11, 2007

Been using Spybot S&D for years. Constant updates and very thoroughly scans and removes. It can take as long as 40 minutes for a complete scan and that display glitch with Teatimer are my only gripes.

Hall9000 reviewed v1.5.1.13 Beta on Jul 11, 2007

Spybot is an absolute must on my computer and I simply have no complaints about it... except TeaTimer. :P Has the correction been done on TeaTimer or do we still have to use ResHack to correct the button position? I know that in the last version I downloaded, ver 1.4, for this new computer of mine(yeaaaah) I had to use ResHack. Using WindowsXP Pro.

Canuckistani reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 24, 2007

It is a beta, you know, so there will be problems. You should post your issue in the S&D forum.
http://forums.spybot.info/

lion7718 reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 24, 2007

@turboinferno83:

I don't use the Betas, but that Teatimer bug has been around for awhile. There is a thread at the Spybot Forums about editing a file to make the buttons visible...sorry I don't have exact info, I don't use Teatimer.

turboinferno83 reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 24, 2007

I would have to say thank you to the creator of this program.thou it does have its problems its good to keep it mind the that its free.Beggers cant be choosers is the common quote that comes to mind.

Something that I remember problems with on the top of my head is the enabling of the " tea timer" portion of the install may produce a alert box that produces no indication of a viable button to choose.A search of the web brought fourth the fact keyboard shortcuts of some like pressing "A" for allow or "D" for Deny then enter to navigate.Dont quote me though search the web yourself to confirm my claims.

mickrussom reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 24, 2007

With Ad-Aware 7 being a bloatware scam that makes deals with spyware companies not to detect certain scumware, this is our last hope.

All the best to spybot, that god for them!

cricri_pingouin reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 23, 2007

I'd normally give it a 5 because I really like it and it does a good job.
However, one point off for:
* installing stuff that I specifically asked NOT to install (e.g. language files)
* always dectecting stuff such as "Windows Security Centre" desactivated and proposing to activate it back by default. This is NOT a spyware, I purposedly disabled it myself, and I assume a lot of people do the same.
So 4 out of 5 this time around.

bobad reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 23, 2007

Very happy to see that Spybot is still in development. I was beginning to worry. Because of Spybot's clunky realtime scanner, I jumped to Spyware Terminator, which has a lights out realtime scanner. IMHO, all Spybot needs is to modernize the realtime scanner and freshen up the GUI a little. Here's hoping it stays light, small, and fast. Oh, and keep it portable (or at least semi-portable) as it is currently. Highly recommended!

joeshmoe7 reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 23, 2007

Glad to see spybot getting so much better all the time. Love it!

utomo reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 23, 2007

Great news, that after long time we wait now we have new versions.

What I can suggest to improve it is:
1. Add options, so user can reports a suspect if they wants, and it still not yet listed/ detected.
2. All new version better to include the latest versions. this is better compared to download the updates separately, even it just new version it ask for big updates.
3. User interface need some improvements to make it easier to use. and better looking. but not too much.

and other improvements

[deXter] reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 22, 2007

Great to see a new version of this app after such a long time!

Firstly, hats off to SaferNetworking for sticking to what they think is right. I've been following their news and have seen them fight off many spyware companies who claim that their product was unfairly classified as spyware. They've also won court cases against some of those companies!

Second, I'm glad that Spybot hasn't become SpyBloat. SaferNetworking, if you're reading this review: please *do not* ever consider bloating up the program! (*cough*Ad-aware*cough*)

I love the way Spybot works, it's fast even on ancient computers. Please continue to keep it that way.

dejavu reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 22, 2007

Hi Mr. SafeNetworking. I use your software since spyware was a little baby (gator was only a green egg). Thanks for your efforts, great job!

siryak reviewed v1.5.1.12 Beta on Jun 22, 2007

Great product! Can't go wrong here. I have been using this for a very long time. I use to use it along side Ad-Aware. Now that Ad-Aware has gone south it is Spyware Blaster, SpyBot, and A-Squared. SpyBot is my main one though. I only scan on occasion with the others.

RaGhul reviewed v1.5 Beta on Jun 20, 2007

OMG!! It's Mr. SafeNetworking himself!

Nice app, man. For a "one-man" developing team, you've really outdone yourself.

I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to say thanx. ;)

PS:
Not a critique in any way, but if you would like any help on the interface, icons, or installation package, I humbly offer my services to you, sir. (Free of charge.)

email:
gerzean@hotmail.com

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.5 Beta on Jun 19, 2007

SaferNetworking

We love your work. You've always included the lit on final releases, so I'm not knocking you...

I won't ever use the "immunization" feature though. That apparently really screws up machines with the latest IE7 patches, and there are far too many domains with malware for it to be effective.

SaferNetworking reviewed v1.5 Beta on Jun 19, 2007

The reason why there's no list of changes yet is probably that this might be the version Neowin "found" by trying a few likely URLs before the list was compiled. Should appear today or tomorrow though...

(sorry for the self-praise in rating, new comment wasn't possible without giving a rating at all *g*)

terrister reviewed v1.5 Beta on Jun 18, 2007

They also fixed the teatimer bug. It now displays alerts correctly.

alanpalmer reviewed v1.5 Beta on Jun 18, 2007

It certainly seems as good as ever. Downloads of updates seem faster, although that might be because of the wider choice of download sites. It spotted a tracking cookie in Opera - I may be wrong but I don't think it searched Opera before; at least I can't remember it.

nerrad reviewed v1.5 Beta on Jun 18, 2007

Great piece of software! The new beta runs flawlessly. The updater has changed, but the rest of the programs architecture remained the same. After the Ad-aware 2007 fiasco, It's good to see this quality release hasn't become bloated. Keep up the good work, Spybot team!

siryak reviewed v1.5 Beta on Jun 18, 2007

Great anti-spyware app as it has been for years. To the reviewer below don't rate it low just because it doesn't have a changelog. That has nothing to do with the actual program itself, which is what you "should" be rating.

The Dave reviewed v1.5 Beta on Jun 18, 2007

Why does nobody post change lists anymore?

What has been changed/improved/fixed in this release?

mehfuz reviewed v1.4 on May 19, 2007

This is the best anti-spyware.Why? it's free,it can detect most of the spyware,malware and other unwanted files and delete efficiently. Spybot's update system is also quite good - you don't have to download big files daily and also updates are divided into smaller parts.for these reasons it's getting 5 from me.

dagmawi reviewed v1.4 on May 6, 2007

The best Anti Spyware software on the net.Period. This light and easy to use program really creates a first line of defense! A must have great program!!!

Sandmidget reviewed v1.4 on Apr 18, 2007

Great utility, with frequent updates. A must have to ensure your Windows PC to be mal-ware free. I have found by using this tutorial http://www.removingspywa...Spybot_S_and_D_Tutorial will assist on customizing your scans and learn all the ins and outs of the built in tools.

scabby reviewed v1.4 on Mar 26, 2007

Man there's no pleasing some people,
I have been using this programme for 4 years and it's one of the best out there. I believe the originating author started it off because he was pissed off with the parasites on the net.
Good Man! My hat is off to ya!

shxrobert reviewed v1.4 on Feb 7, 2007

Excellent program with many additional 'expert mode' features. Sadly it seems that many fail to double check/update their "Immunize" function after the initial install. Once updates are available, I feel.. if Immunization is in fact enabled, and there is an update for the Immunization Database, then the program should automatically update its Immunization feature. In addition, if the Immunize feature is not enabled fully (updates available) I feel it should be strongly suggested that it be re-checked by perhaps a warning message (similar to the message when you manually check it) without having to click the Immunize button. In the programs defense however... it seems most people are simply oblivious to the great tools and options this program provides.
5/5

gnovak1 reviewed v1.4 on Jan 31, 2007

1.I noticed we have here some rocket scientists who know everything
2.I'm not one of them but if you always have a green light about malware than you visit only two web pages,Microsoft's and Microsoft's again!
3.You need a complete set of protection:exellent antivirus,firewall and spyware to protect your PC the best possible
4.Do anybody knows how many viruses,trojans,worms,...we know and what would data base do to your CPU (100% extra strong glue)
5.Spybot isn't the best product but it's good to be the second choice
6.I like it because it doesn't use almost no CPU power and guys,it's free and that I respect the most!

Yannis_GR reviewed v1.4 on Jan 6, 2007

5 for free
5 for simplicity
5 for frequent updates

Cyclenuts reviewed v1.4 on Nov 15, 2006

Just a warning to watch out for a Spyware site advertised as SPYWAREBOT. They will NOT let you Download the FREE Software without paying $$$. You can be deceived if you are not careful.
SPYBOT does NOT charge any $$$ to Download and use it's Software. ONLY a $$$ Donation of your choice, IF you do like their Service after use!!!
SPYBOT Search & Destroy 1.4, is the FREE Software suggested by Consumer Report Articles of Sept. 06, NOT SPYWAREBOT.

loupino reviewed v1.4 on Oct 13, 2006

Just the best
5 for the good job
5 for free
5 for easyness

sfx00 reviewed v1.4 on Sep 11, 2006

Spybot S&D is one tool in a tool chest. it, in conjuction with Webroot Spy Sweeper ( webroot.com ) and the (aak) Windows Defender cleared my dear old mothers machine from hordes of spam, adware, maware, etc. high marks go to SB S&D for its clean interface, though one downside is that it will lock you out of the Internet Options page. thats my rant.

JosephRejekt reviewed v1.4 on Aug 13, 2006

((Reviewer: comeoffit Jul 27, 2006
Version: 1.4

Funny how roj, who initially only offered ridicule, is now in agreement with what a very small number of clueful people were saying not too long ago with regard to this software. Yes, the malware landscape has continued to evolve, but some people with nerve cell #2 realized quite awhile ago that Spybot S&D was a lost cause.

I strongly recommend people to use better software than this. Kaspersky, Windows Defender, Webroot--there are many that work better than Spybot S&D...

And if ANY anti-spyware solution has "saved you" multiple times, you REALLY need to reign in your computing habits, and figure out what you're doing wrong--rather than simply continuing to rely on security software that provides more false confidence than actual protection.))
------------------------------------------------
I don't see what this cat up there is thinkin. I've been using this for quite some time and it has never failed me whatsoever. I use this coupled with the Yahoo Anti-spy (of all things from yahoo, this is probably the one thing i can recommend from them as it has worked just as well as any other and uses alot less resources). Between Spybot S&D's Immunity function (which DOES WORK), the tea timer, and the SDHelper... what other one would ya want? No spy/adware sweeper is going to catch ALL forms of spy and adware and that is why i use 2 myself. I don't care if its AdAware or any of the other ones... no 1 is perfect and this is better than any other period!! As far as "habits" go Comeoffit... anyone with half a brain knows that no matter what your habits, where you go.. what you do... spyware and adware are all around. Unless you really plan to situate yourself to a limited base of trustworthy websites, then no matter where you go... what you do... what you download, you are always going to encounter something. For me, on my PC and laptop, any friends systems that i've placed this on... it has worked better than ANY OTHER i've seen. The webroot one a friend of mine had... and to no avail it worked like crap. I popped this on there... got rid of their webroot one and it worked like a charm.

jon8rfc reviewed v1.4 on Aug 4, 2006

Excellent. One of my two staple spyware/adware/malware scanners. This and Ad-Aware.

Johnbald01 reviewed v1.4 on Jul 29, 2006

Spybot is a great program for part of your security needs. As most know layered protection is the best for stopping malware. I noted someone mentioned spysweeper as a great program. It is a good program but current upgraded version 5.0.5 has a few bugs that slow down most systems, so praise should be reserved and not blatant. Current solid program for malware on commercial arena is Spyware Doctor.
One of the best for active protection is still spywareblaster, another free one

Slymantec reviewed v1.4 on Jul 27, 2006

Spybot S&D is the best Free Spyware/Malware Product around. I have been using it since day dot. Protect your system and get it NOW! Stop IE Hijackers, Protect System file changes, Stop dialers dropping on you and landing you with a massive phone bill. Highly recommended!

comeoffit reviewed v1.4 on Jul 27, 2006

Funny how roj, who initially only offered ridicule, is now in agreement with what a very small number of clueful people were saying not too long ago with regard to this software. Yes, the malware landscape has continued to evolve, but some people with nerve cell #2 realized quite awhile ago that Spybot S&D was a lost cause.

I strongly recommend people to use better software than this. Kaspersky, Windows Defender, Webroot--there are many that work better than Spybot S&D... This outdated scanner can't handle the latest malware, especially rootkits, which a lot of spyware makes use of.

And if ANY anti-spyware solution has "saved you" multiple times, you REALLY need to reign in your computing habits, and figure out what you're doing wrong--rather than simply continuing to rely on security software that provides more false confidence than actual protection.

Yes, JosephRejekt, this means that I do not commonly come into contact with malware--despite the fact that I do not restrict myself to a small number of "trusted" sites. I haven't installed Windows since 2002, and my system runs wonderfully... And every HIPS and malware scanner I try gives it a green light. How about you? Clearly you are having more trouble than I am ... gee, I wonder why that is.

kurtthegreat reviewed v1.4 on Jul 18, 2006

its awesome, saved my computer multiple times. If you use it in conjunction with Ad Aware and such, you will not get spyware

pwned32 reviewed v1.4 on Jul 11, 2006

great app, interface is kinda aging and the built in update doesnt work for me. i download updates maunaly with no problem. this has saved be when ad-aware, windows defender and other apps have failed to find and remove the programs on my computer. great free software. use with 1 or 2 other anti-spyware apps and ull be set

RoYk reviewed v1.4 on Jun 25, 2006

The best ever spyware on the net,just download it & its free... thanks a lot spybot

alanpalmer reviewed v1.4 on Jun 21, 2006

I use Spybot S&D, Adaware SE, and Windows Defender. What one program misses, another is quite likely to catch. I also use Opera rather than the insecure Internet Explorer, so I've never been troubled by spyware (so far!). I'll give it 5 mainly because it's free and obviously a labour of love by its creator.

roj reviewed v1.4 on Jun 7, 2006

This was once a very effective program. Unfortunately, it is maintained by one individual who cannot hope to keep up with the latest and greatest in spyware / malware. Various strains of same laugh at the resident Tea Timer as they bypass it. The program is well designed and easy to use but in our corporate tests, it stopped only 30% of the various nasties thrown at it while Windows Defender killed off over 80%.

I have to give this program THREE stars for extremely limited effectiveness and cannot understand why BetaNews spotlights it as a preferred tool. At this point, it's not even worth installing.

hellrazor238 reviewed v1.4 on Jun 7, 2006

for a free program its great thats all i can say
number 1 for finding spyware

Dragon001 reviewed v1.4 on May 30, 2006

SpyBot and Ad-aware SE Personal make the best combo. As for spybot it somtime does get out of date here and there but updates seems to be batchs (look at the file size). It does a great job and its free 5/5

ccc1005 reviewed v1.4 on May 19, 2006

Great program but the update process is pretty slow and bad, definately needs an update.

Fyrstar reviewed v1.4 on May 9, 2006

For a free program, this program outperforms any other program that detects and deletes spyware and malware for NO charge.

skulker reviewed v1.4 on May 4, 2006

I liked Spybot 1.3 better than 1.4 though it was not as tunable......or maybe because of that! This version, as of early May 2006, still has a malformed popup window when a registry update is detected, and it is not readable, so hard to know what to click on to Ok or deny a change. Also, the tunables are too complex in Advanced in my opinion, or maybe it is just that the tutorial/help pages are not fleshed out enough to know how to wisely use the Advanced features. They need to come out with a Spybot 1.4.1 with improvements!!! Midniteskulker

pafinator11 reviewed v1.4 on Mar 11, 2006

One of the best antispyware programs. I use this along with Ad-aware and I have a perfectly clean system. Keep up the good work!

elgmaster reviewed v1.4 on Mar 8, 2006

this software dose its job well and is easy to use

improvelence reviewed v1.4 on Feb 21, 2006

The only real anti-spyware utility you need is COMMON SENSE. Dont install spyware. Learn to read. Make sure IE (if you use it) cannot autoinstall anything.

Tokar reviewed v1.4 on Feb 15, 2006

300,000 downloads a week?

Are you kidding me?

Betanews doesn't even get half the traffic Softpedia gets and their #1 download every week (DVD Shrink) only gets close to 70,000 downloads.

sn0wflake reviewed v1.4 on Feb 8, 2006

Great program if you use Internet Explorer but registry backup made it stop responding so I had to kill the process and restart it.

dab43 reviewed v1.4 on Feb 4, 2006

I have tried alot of these supposed adware,spyware removal programmes,none of them match up to this "spybot search and destroy",it does exactly what it says....it SEARCHES AND DESTROYS!!!!

g-smooth2k reviewed v1.4 on Jan 27, 2006

Great if used with Lavasoft Ad-Aware Plus/Professional.
it finds half of what ad-aware doesn't find and vice versa.

Another good choice is Webroot Spy Sweeper.

++++++++++

Don Juan reviewed v1.4 on Jan 10, 2006

Does a great job of cleaning up spyware. Also comes with some nice additional little tools in advanced mode, like the secure file shredder and the invalid registry entry scanner. Unfortunately I'm gonna give it a four because the GUI for Tea Timer is so badly mangled I can't make sense of it when it pops up.

icec reviewed v1.4 on Jan 5, 2006

Fairly nice piece of software. I've used it in conjunction with Ad-aware before, each of them seem to recognize a few that the other does not. My only qualm is that the interface seems a bit dated.

I've since moved to Microsoft Antispyware (soon to be Windows Defender (?) ), which I vastly prefer to the both of the former.

hurzx reviewed v1.4 on Nov 21, 2005

Yesterday, I got infected with spyware ( OHPE ver 4.12_23)although my PC seemed rather well protected ( Zone Alarm + AVG7 + SpywareBlaster + Microsoft antispyware). I ran scans by Microsoft AS and Adaware, CCleaner which found nothing. Spybot found. 73 entries... For that, I put a 5. It was however unable to destroy it entirely and I had to struggle with Procexp, Killprocess, Autoruns and finally Regseeker to get rid of it. For that, I nuance to 4.

JonathanDoe reviewed v1.4 on Nov 14, 2005

Great when combined with Ad-Aware SE. Plus the HOST file monitoring and IE immunization features are nice.

TheBeastH6 reviewed v1.4 on Oct 25, 2005

Spybot is highly customizable, and it does find objects not detected elsewhere. A great companion to Ad-Aware SE, because when these programs are coupled...

WhiteZero reviewed v1.4 on Oct 25, 2005

httpd.confused, your sorly misstaken. SpyBot picks up alot of stuff other apps dont and, granted, it misses stuff others pick up. It's best to use it in conjunction with another utility.

httpd.confused reviewed v1.4 on Oct 24, 2005

Overrated, of course because it's free. There are shareware alternatives that are better at detection and removal:

PC Magazine, June 21, 2005: "Real-time protection [of Spybot S&D 1.4 is] not effective at preventing spyware installation."

PC World, November 2005: "[Spybot S&D 1.4] had the lowest spyware-cleanup score."

Now, I know you gurus are all more knowledgable than the writers of the aforementioned magazines, but please, don't brag--it might embarass them.

I don't care how great Spybot is when used along with 15 other applications. It's not the best, and there are better alternatives. When you say that Spybot works well when used with other, similar software, you aren't commenting on Spybot, you are commenting on all that software collectively. (I thought this was obvious, but I guess not.)

And if you think I am biased toward for-pay applications, you really don't pay attention. It's not that I am biased toward shareware; it's just that unlike the vast majority of other people, I'm not biased toward freeware!

Roj really ought to go easy on his criticism of me, given that I agree with him much of the time!

I love how so many people address me directly. For someone you feel should be dismissed, you sure pay me plenty of attention! =)

benZin reviewed v1.4 on Oct 24, 2005

Why pay when we have a nice prog like Spybot ;)
With Ad Aware SE and Spyware Blaster, byebye spys.

Mastertech reviewed v1.4 on Sep 20, 2005

Excellent Program. Unfortunately no Spyware Program gets everything. This should be one in your arsenal. That also includes Adaware and Microsoft AntiSpyware. In no way do you need to purchase any Spyware program when these free ones in combination will remove everything.

FileFreak reviewed v1.4 on Sep 17, 2005

Great free solution that should be on everybody's desktop. Still, does not always catches all the bugs. Personally, I prefer http://www.deprice.com/spywaredoctor.htm

maddevon2222 reviewed v1.4 on Sep 14, 2005

Rating is for 1.4 and 1.4:
I started using 1.3 and that one really did the job but now I just installed 1.4 and I already was impresed by it.

eyeinthesky43 reviewed v1.4 on Sep 11, 2005

This is one of the best programs I have used and it works great. It even found things that Ad-Aware 1.06 didn't even find!!

HurricaneGame reviewed v1.4 on Sep 6, 2005

This is one of the best removable programs out there.. recommend for everyone who hasnt got it.

nayan003 reviewed v1.4 on Aug 26, 2005

Cool Stuff !!!
Must have application...

Good work guys!!

bbfc reviewed v1.4 on Aug 23, 2005

I used Spybot before I changed to MS AntiSpyware, which in my opinion is better, although I still think this is a fantastic program.

whatdoiknow reviewed v1.4 on Aug 12, 2005

Actually if you want to be real technical Spybot detects more spyware than Ad-aware. Actual quotes from the websites...

Spybot: Total: 258460 fingerprints in 27694 rules for 1636 products

Ad-aware: Signatures total : 42593 Target families : 728

Where a "signature" is a single trace of a malware. It could be a registry entry or a file. A "family" is a program as a collective whole that is actually detected. You can really notice this difference in The States where I live. Spybot seems to detect more malware. I guess Spybot just seems to target more programs from the West. Spyware is definitely geological and although you can get hit with a spyware/malware from anywhere in the world. Statistically you're more likely to get one from around the area you live.

Once after my last review it seems that Lavasoft again removed signatures without revealing it to the public. But lately it HAS been out wide in the open what EXACTLY has been removed, which is good except for the fact that the malware problem has exploded. According to Webroot; their system of servers (I forgot what its called) finds about 300 new spywares A DAY!! Lavasoft should be adding signatures like crazy not taking them away.

And I don't even know where to begin with Micro$oft antispyware. Oh wait, I do. Not only did they remove detection for the well known spyware company Claria but they plan to purchase the company which shows that M$ doesn't care about you the users. They just care about your money.

kentsinks reviewed v1.4 on Aug 3, 2005

I find that running Spybot S&D finds some malware applications that AdAware is good, but not alone

mindblaster reviewed v1.4 on Jul 26, 2005

still one of the best programmes of its kind (together with lavasoft
and microsoft products)

but the only program witch finds more than 90% of all adware is still
hijackthis but is a little to cryptic for most users

so i suggest to use this product together with one of the above - i
for me use it together with lavasoft

adrian

bokhylla reviewed v1.4 on Jul 24, 2005

I don´t think this program finds many adwares. I think that Webroot Spysweeper, Spyware Doctor, CounterSpy, Ad-Aware and so on are better programs. That is, also, what PC Magazine and PC world says.
Björn Lundahl, Göteborg, Sweden

Dragon Wang reviewed v1.4 on Jul 19, 2005

Good program, it removes the dangerous stuff, but it doesn't remove as many spybots as Ad-Aware. But it scans a lot faster, and will remove most of the ones that actually cause trouble. Recommended, but you should get Ad-Aware also and run both, twice, once every two weeks at least.

Jminion reviewed v1.4 on Jul 14, 2005

only one word will suffice, PERFECT

ForeGuard reviewed v1.4 on Jun 29, 2005

The best.

imanino reviewed v1.4 on Jun 13, 2005

Updating here. I would not recommend it in conjunction with XP Pro with SP2 if the firewall system is engaged. It seems to be a lot less efficient overall with the firewall enabled and often detects legitimate firewall settings as spyware. Updating in such a context beomes very problematic. The advent of Windows OneCare, Microsoft AS, etc is going to cause problems with this, given that in many cases, Spybot does not "play nice" with these internally regulated systems. I would recommend spybot for all other systems.

klumy reviewed v1.4 on Jun 11, 2005

Excellent software

RoSmecher reviewed v1.4 on Jun 8, 2005

this program used to be one of the best, but then all the other ones got better while this one lacked updates.

elclaudio reviewed v1.4 on Jun 2, 2005

Upon upgrading from version 1.3, Microsoft AntiSpyware detected an attempt to add a trusted site in Internet Explorer, 139mm.com, some strange asiatic web site. Another guy I know had the same experience. What is that???

When upgrading from beta 1.4b on my other PC, I did not had that alert from MS AntiSpyware. Will check later if that 139mm.com has beeb added or not. I wrote to Spybot...

Found some infos on a forum...

"Microsoft AntiSpyware is mis-detecting the creation of a Restricted Site registry entry for www.139mm.com as an attempt to create 139mm.com as a Trusted Site.

The first step in the creation of a www.domain.com key entry creates the domain.com key, followed by a www sub-key. For some reason MSAS detects this first key being created as a Trusted Site and displays this message."

Dunno what to think...

foxtyke reviewed v1.4 on Jun 1, 2005

If you ever had or have problems with spyware and adware, this is one of the top tools out there and to top that off, it's completely free though donations are encouraged.

A lot of times, you'll find that you can't remove some spyware because it's running already, with Spybot's boot time scanning, you can preempt those little buggers and remove them from your system by getting them before they start.

Also, you have a lot of privacy functionality such as removing history lists, cookies, and even shredding files.

Truly a five star program...

Bachalor reviewed v1.4 on Jun 1, 2005

Fine piece of FREEWARE.
If it is usefull, I make a DONATION too.
Thanks a lot.

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.4 on Jun 1, 2005

Slightly improved interface, however I chose to update it while installing and it did not do this properly, leaving what appeared to be an updated SS&D. I had to go into the program itself and update it. I was able to repeat this on multiple systems.

On one system SS&D hung during the scan on the last check (botcheck) Might want to wait on this a few weeks if stability is critical for you.

DIRKES reviewed v1.4 on Jun 1, 2005

It works fine and help me personally. I make a DONATION to the author for this kind of work.

whatdoiknow reviewed v1.4 RC2b on May 27, 2005

Yes it's a little low in the way of detections I'll give you that. But as one of the ONLY programs not to drop WhenU from its detection base it, goes without saying, has kept my trust in it high. Both Ad-Aware and M$ have dropped the detection for this program in the past and while Lavasoft has re-added detection for this semi-recently I do believe M$ still has not. Worse still, Lavasoft did NOT announce this change until after this issue was discovered by the security community. But what do I know, right? I'm ONLY a member of multiple security forums and a moderator at Spywar.org. What would I know about spotting a great app when I see one right? And to top it all off this app is free.

httpd.confused reviewed v1.4 RC2b on May 6, 2005

What are you people basing the "best anti-spyware" claims on? Every review I've read puts the solutions from Webroot, Giant (now Microsoft), and others well over Spybot S&D in terms of detection. (Yes, I know that a lot of reviewers are nitwits; but I still put more credence in them than anything someone submits here.)

Still, it's well-featured and free. I find it handy for the "Tools" stuff, but not much else.

I did encounter an annoyance straight off, though: After I installed it, and spent a few minutes configuring it, then checked for updates, it automatically restarted itself, without saving my settings upon doing so.

mutara reviewed v1.4 RC2b on May 3, 2005

Program works like a charm. But i still use other Anti-Spyware programs just to be on the safe side. U never know...

videren reviewed v1.4 RC2b on May 3, 2005

I cannot get the update feature to work. I need to authenticate to use the proxy server, but even when I enter my user name and password it says "Proxy auth. required. Access to the web proxy service is denied"

utomo reviewed v1.4 RC2b on May 3, 2005

Again the same problems. they did not include as much update as possible in the release, and we still need to download many updates which actually can be packed when the release. so we just need little update after installing it.
so I give 4 instead of 5

wincement reviewed v1.4 RC2b on May 1, 2005

Spybot is still the best single anti-spyware app out there. No others come close.

I would recommend using additional anti-spyware programs (Ad-Aware, Spyware Blaster, MS Anti-Spyware, Yahoo Anti-Spy) to make sure you all your bases covered, but Spybot has the most complete solution by far.

PicAFlic reviewed v1.4 RC2b on Apr 29, 2005

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO glad that the guys at Spybot S&D listened to all of us beta testers and fixed that update and TeaTimer bug. But, that is why they have people like us testing it out for them. And in the end I still think Spybot S&D is the best Anti-Spyware program you can get today!

jcorque reviewed v1.4 RC2b on Apr 28, 2005

Glad they fixed the update bug. This version is great and works like a charm!!

wat0114 reviewed v1.4 RC2b on Apr 28, 2005

True that it doesn't have first-rate detection, but if combined with Ad-Aware SE and Javacool's Spywareblaster - all of which are free - you've got yourself a pretty good arsenal of antispyware utilities.

tre2004 reviewed v1.4 RC2b on Apr 28, 2005

Another Great Update of this Great Product!
BUT, DON'T FORGET TO GO TO SETTINGS, AND INGORE PRODUCTS, ALL PRODUCTS and go down the list and untick the 2 or 3 that spybot has to ignore! New.net, and a few others. I dont' know why they have them set to ignore, that is the ONLY thing I dont' like about spybot S&D, cause the ones they have checked to ignore are NOT GOOD!
But, anyways.. great program

googun reviewed v1.4 RC2b on Apr 28, 2005

S&D is a fantastic piece oif kit. That it is made available for free is commendable. Anyone who plays Comand & Conquer will know the phrase "Search And Destroy" very well. It comes to mind whenever I run S&D, tho I wish it did actually search and destroy the sites that issue allthe spyware, miners, cookies and other crap.
I have very few criticisms of it, and all of them slight. There is a lot of unused gray space on the application, and the GUI is not very pretty. Update files seem to be quite big every time. Teatimer is a silly name. But hey, big respek to Safer Networking Limited :-)

Pipewrench reviewed v1.4 RC2b on Apr 28, 2005

Very Very Very good. I think I'm going to have to donate to this guy. The Update Crash from yesterday has been fixed and this program works like a champ. Great Job!!! :-)

-David

Slug_Coordinator reviewed v1.4 RC2b on Apr 28, 2005

I am glad they fixed the problem. It would be nice if they could have a rollback feature so when you have problems like yesterday that you can go back to previous version until patch is out.

How ever since they fixed it so fast I am glad.
Thanks.

Klusternisse reviewed v1.4 RC2b on Apr 28, 2005

the update-check works very nice in this version :) just grab it and enjoy

wincement reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

After reading the reviews here, I decided to stick with RC1. I'll wait until the next release before I try to upgrade it. RC1 is working great for me right now. Spybot is still one of the best, and no one can beat the price :-)

some guy reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

__ ___ __ ___
/ _)( ,) ( ) ( ,\
( (_ ) \ /__\ ) _/
\__)(_)\_)(_)(_)(_)

muff99 reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

Same here, closes whenever I search for updates

jcorque reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

Up to now there were no problems with the beta version of Spybot. After installing this one the program crashes shortly after updating.
I went back to the previous beta version and all is well. I guess I'll wait until they fix this bug.

Astro-SII reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

ok... if you have spybot already installed and have the settings set to show beta updates, and update that way... RC2 is fine, if you download the RC2 from the download link here and try to install that one, it is crap... crashes, etc...

adamlau reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

Buggy. Not recommended at this time.

Slug_Coordinator reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

Problems will crash when trying to get it to update it shuts down completely, the registry backup is way too slow.

RC 1 was much better. I can't believe the problems with this all the other beta 1.4's have been solid and Rc1 was so smooth and fast.

acs reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

Critical bugs, it's not recomended, Spybot 1.4 RC1 is very good but RC 2 contains several bugs.

cltx99 reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

How this program can rate a 4.5 is totally beyond my imagination. what a piece of crap. I'll stick to Ad-aware.

jordenpro reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

Great program! Obvious it's in beta stages, I feel if people donated a little more, it might show in the future releases. This product has become a full-time job for many I'm sure.

I too, will wait for the beta release.

Keep up the good work!

alcvanamelsvoort reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

I am disappointed with this release and can’t be bothered to outline the many flaws. I reinstalled the earlier release that works just fine.

Adrian79 reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

ok, i never have problems with ANYTHING..including the first RC, but with this relase..i click on update..and it disappears!! hahaha bullcrap..well, guess I'll wait for Final also..later

mifamilia reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

i am not on a laptop ...but i do have a dell pc ....and when i press update....it crashes as well....ill just wait for next update i guess....

httpd.confused reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

Doesn't have first-rate detection, according only to reviews I've read. It's hard for me to rate it personally, since I have never had any sort of spyware installed.

bourgeoisdude reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

"XP Pro with SP2 on a Dell D600 Laptop." Running the D600? Perhaps the problem (kidding). I see no difference in RC1 and RC2, both work fine on my system at home...no crashes when updating either.

Pipewrench reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

Program "looks" nice but looks is not what it's all about. Mine also crashes to the desktop when I click on the "Update" button. I'm running XP Pro with SP2 on a Dell D600 Laptop. Needs more work but that's why it's beta still :-)

Cheers,
Pipewrench

Klusternisse reviewed v1.4 RC2 on Apr 27, 2005

great program, but this release crashes when i press the update-check button .

Kramy reviewed v1.4 RC on Apr 18, 2005

Awesome program! Although not quite as effective at removing spyware as ad-aware is(v1.3 failed to remove something called "Alexa" from my comp), it removed tons more cookies than ad-aware did, and has a slew of useful tools built into it(process list showing connections, startup menu editor, etc.). Oh, and unlike ad-aware it's NOT shareware either!

Tenoq reviewed v1.4 RC on Apr 18, 2005

Once a brilliant program, Spybot S&D has fallen off the perch a little. It's detection rate is fairly low, even the other free program (Ad-Aware) is trouncing it now in effectiveness. And it certainly has nothing on the paid solutions, or, dare I say it, MS Antispyware.

IMHO, currently the best solution on the market is Webroot's Spysweeper. Although I still wouldn't pay $30 for the program, it is easily the single most effective tool to remove spyware. That said, I would not advise using it or ANY anti-spyware program exclusively. You'll get much better results by using a combination of the programs, and a little know-how.

PicAFlic reviewed v1.4 RC on Apr 14, 2005

I LOVE Spybot Search & Destroy 4.1RC! Personally, this is the best one so far! I've used Spybot since version 2.1 where it had the line "Use at your own risk!" going across the top. But, it is still VERY good, and the best part is, it's FREE!!!!

Disasterpiece reviewed v1.4 RC on Apr 14, 2005

The best ther is in free software

Pixelsmack reviewed v1.4 RC on Apr 14, 2005

Yes, SB is really good, one of the better ones. But, like the others, I cannot give it a high rating.

It seems most these removers are the same. They all remove the "easy" stuff. When it comes time to remove some stubborn hardcore stuff, they ALL fail. Usually end up having to wipe out the box and reinstall.

I really wish someone could step up and make something that can truly blast away the nastiest stuff (yes, I'd pay for it). Cause truthfully that's when you need something like this. A properly configured browser almost never gets hit with the mainstream spyware.

danniboi reviewed v1.4 RC on Apr 14, 2005

I must say it has impoved a lot in this version. I'm glad to see Spy-Bot regain it's form of the past

guevara reviewed v1.4 RC on Apr 14, 2005

Gettting better
and
better.
EXELENT !!!!!!

Klusternisse reviewed v1.4 RC on Apr 14, 2005

the best

pimp_in_da_crib reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Mar 25, 2005

the best spyware remover ever!its great.i like it it saves alot of money. it should be on evrey system!

mzhao reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Mar 9, 2005

I have to say, Spybot is the best spyware remover I have ever used before. It's even better in the latest beta, and I hope development continues quickly ;)

whatdoiknow reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Jan 18, 2005

High resource usage is a good thing in that the program finishes quicker. It only takes one minute to run on my PC!! Why do people keep bashing the interface? There is absolutely nothing wrong with it! It is VERY functional and it gives you access to all parts of the program. That's a very good point about updates OrbitOne! Yeah it's free, unfortunately that means the author cannot afford to put out that many installer files very often. That's why the program version 1.3.1 TX that fixed a lot of bugs came out as a seperate file http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4392 I don't see what Lavasoft's problem with updates is recently. I mean the last two updates Ad-Aware had came very far apart AND the last one even got rid of a few signatures! I mean with their Plus and Enterprise versions they should definitely afford to publish a more frequent and thorough database!

Mike162005 reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Jan 8, 2005

It just keeps getting beta and beta!

utomo reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Dec 14, 2004

What need to improve:
1. Need less resources.
2. Include all updates when releasing new version, including the beta. I just download today, and installit. after that, when I check the update, there is many to download. it must be included as default.
3. easy of use/interface need to be improved too. sometimes the confirmations dialog is not showing, etc.

mike_loldrup reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Dec 14, 2004

EXELLENT !!

butzphilly@hotmail.com reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Dec 14, 2004

Esta Spybot é coisa de Deus!

Muito eficiente compra spyware, recomendo para todos.

5 Stars

OrbitOne reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Dec 14, 2004

FREEware. POWERful. Effective. FREEware.

Considering the above, I have to give this a 5.
Used in conjunction with SpywareBlasterk AdAware SE, the AntiVIR du jour, XP Pro SP2, and Sygate Personal Firewall, not very much gets through.

I use this to help rid infected boxes of crapware. Haven't really seen any single program do it all yet, although some have tried, some have claimed -cough- (symantec)...

The interface is a bit strange at first, it doesn't seem very intuitive compared to other s/w designed for windows... not that there's anything wrong with thinking outside the box... but once you figure it out, it's a breeze.

Nice to have the option to get the latest definition updates as you install. Most people wouldn't think of updating a new installation.

One thing about the version numbering. Seems it's almost always BETA. Well, yes and no. If windows followed this, we'd all be using Win(XX) Betas, as it's always being updated, too.

Installation seemed to hang at the end after retrieving updates, then the program launched.

Even though the bugs are there, it's still a 5 star item imho.

karlsen reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Dec 14, 2004

Excellent free program. Also, I just want to give a tip on the restart window flashing/updating. Drag the window off screen so that only the title bar is visible, and it flies!

BootBlock reviewed v1.4 Beta 2 on Dec 14, 2004

An extremely poor piece of programming and design (WTH is going on with that interface?!), but it works. Why it locks for a few minutes while deleting a few cookies (eg. text files), I have no idea. When doing a system scan at Windows bootup, it insists on updating its progress display a trillion times a second; this *completely* kills its scanning speed. Put it on a timer to update a few times a second and it'll fly. Regardless, Spybot coupled with AdAware make a fairly good team.

davygiven reviewed v1.4 Beta 1 on Dec 9, 2004

A vast improvement on an already excellent piece of software. Found over 40 files that the previous version had missed. The best available and its FREE!!!!!!!!

utomo reviewed v1.4 Beta 1 on Dec 9, 2004

I did not give this 5 yet.
there is things need to be improved:
1. Sometimes it did not clean/fix correctly. after fixing the same problems still happened. example DSO exploit.
2. When check for update, the default better is cek then cekbox. and we just need to hoit the download. or how about single click update ?
3. If possible need to reduce the update size. this usefull for dialup user.
4. and others improvements

Dirk van Hoofen reviewed v1.4 Beta 1 on Dec 8, 2004

Good freeware - works nice; I'm now a reg. user and send a donation. Thanks a lot.

petgamer reviewed v1.4 Beta 1 on Dec 7, 2004

If you have beta downloads on, you can download it automatically using the update feature in Spybot already which is what I used...went really smoothly. I haven't had any problems and it got rid of all my spyware on my computer without a problem.

Mike162005 reviewed v1.4 Beta 1 on Dec 7, 2004

In reply to tre2004:

I didn't unistall my 1.3 version of Spybot. .

and the beta version just wrote over it. So I

guess it wouldn't hurt to unistall it, or just

leave it.

tre2004 reviewed v1.4 Beta 1 on Dec 7, 2004

I was wondering, before I install this.. do I need to uninstall the current version of spybot, install this one over the current, or should I install this one is a seperate location and keep both versions since this is a Beta... just wondering...

I'm choosing a 5 even though I havn't installed it yet, because IMO you can't go wrong w/ spybot.. after installing I will add to this and let you know if it meets my expectations..

Thanx
Chris

deviantATTILA reviewed v1.4 Beta 1 on Dec 7, 2004

This is the best release sine 1.3 public. I suggest the upgrade for fixes to TeaTimer specifically.

cristoforo reviewed v1.3 on Nov 30, 2004

As mentioned, works great coupled with Ad-Aware, either independently don't seem to clean 100%. Coupled with Kaspersky 5 Personal I keep my computer nice and clean. The interface is horrible, but that doesn't concern me with a healthy PC.

Verdauga Greeneyes reviewed v1.3 on Nov 17, 2004

Yes, it's a nice program, and it still finds some things that Ad-Aware doesn't. Ad-Aware finds things Spybot doesn't, so it's good to use both. Personally I don't much like this program's interface, but then I don't use most of it, so that's my problem. It helps keep my computer clean along with Ad-Aware, so I'll give it a five. :)

m4x reviewed v1.32b on Nov 4, 2004

5* from me.

although relying on one anti-spyware solution sadly does not make for an effective approach; Ad-Aware fanboys take note.

from my experience you need a number of different programs to do specific jobs and a few more that are "jack of all, but a master of none".

obviously Spybot-SD, but also worthy of mention are Webroot's SpySweeper, Pestpatrol and Ad-Aware SE Pro - all worth the modest subscription fees.

also worth looking at (which are free btw)- Spyware Blaster & Guard @: http://www.javacoolsoftw...com/spywareblaster.html

and IE-spyad. info @: http://spywarewarrior.com

and it doesn't end there....

just remember one anti-spyware solution is not enough and btw with the right security settings turned on IE6 is as easily secure as the great Mozilla; which i love

Arutha reviewed v1.32b on Nov 3, 2004

Just red this at Spybot's homepage:

Since yesterday evening, places like BetaNews or MajorGeeks offer Spybot-S&D, version 1.3.2 beta (spybotsd132b.exe). We're not sure how this version reached them or why they do publish it, but this had been an internal test version and was never intended for public use.

We strongly advise you to not use this version, as it contains debug code that will most probably fail on your computer. An official new version will be out quite soon, please look for announcements on the official site and on our support forum first.

utomo reviewed v1.32b on Nov 3, 2004

Basically SSD is good enough but need many to improve.
I just download this new beta version after install, it still need many update. it is not good, they need to include all update as much as possible when they launch the new version/beta version.

sometimes it cannot clean the problems which reported as already fixed, but when we try to check for problems same problems still exist.

and other improvements.

dustdevil reviewed v1.32b on Nov 3, 2004

I have never encountered any long term problems with any version of Spybot. There have been a few glitches that were quickly fixed. I also use Ad Aware which I see frequently mentioned as useful in conjunction with Spybot. I would like to add a small program that will stop Ad Aware from ever finding a bad file on your computer the MRU's are the only thing Ad Aware will find. The program is "All in one SECRETMAKER".Find it here
http://www.secretmaker.com/

thefly42 reviewed v1.32b on Nov 2, 2004

I installed this Beta Version 1.32B and TeaTimer kept crashing on start-up. So I went back to Ver 1.31 TX. I'll wait and see what other people find and if any new beta versions.

-Lord- reviewed v1.3.1 TX on Oct 26, 2004

Guys, don't forget hijackthis.exe. Combine this one with Ad-Aware, and hijackthis.exe and you're pretty well set. I agree with the reviews before me. Between AA and this one, they seem to take turns on who's better, but I would think that's because it depends on whose definitions are the most up to date at that time. If you feel you're infected, safe is better than sorry, and you should run all three apps mentioned. I rarely give a 5... I have to this time around. it's that good.

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.3.1 TX on Oct 25, 2004

1. Always run as user on a 2000/XP if you use IE to browse. Preferably use FF--period.
2. Install Sun's JAVA VM (Microsoft's is no longer supported and the older versions contain security holes) and limit use of BHO's.
3. Use this AND AD-Aware, as others have mentioned. They both go through cycles of "being better" (Just last week SS&D found many more on a system after I cleaned it up. Typically Ad-Aware does find more, but not all of them.
4. Consider rebuilding a box. Some spyware can effect your machine and make it "less secure" even after removal. coolwwwsearch is one of these.

Black-Wolf reviewed v1.3.1 TX on Oct 25, 2004

It's more frequently updated now.

But one would use Ad-aware & Spybot altogether to have the best performance!!

chimpypimpy reviewed v1.3.1 TX on Oct 25, 2004

Spybot is a must have but Ad-aware does pick up more nasties. Use both.
http://www.flexbeta.net/...p?action=show&id=39

whatdoiknow reviewed v1.3 on Sep 15, 2004

As mentioned before, it is a great program with a lot of extra "tools" that Ad-aware just doesn't have. Also as mentioned before, the tools and settings aren't readily available after a default installation but can be EASILY enabled in the program's Mode menu. Any person that can't do this shouldn't even be using the advanced tools anyway, they are meant for people that know what they are doing. I don't even know why people would prefer free Ad-aware over Spybot when the free version of Ad-aware doesn't even prevent infection. And yeah, Ad-aware is updated more frequently but that's because there are commercial versions that bring in revenue so Nicolas Stark can actually AFFORD to publish updates more often whereas Spybot is truly free software. Last point, news about bugs is always published! You might be asking: And how far into the deep underground internet sites do I have to dig to find this information? Oh gee, I don't know maybe just the Official Spybot Support forum!! All the Internet Security Professionals in sites such as www.net-integration.net (Official Spybot Forum)and www.wilderssecurity.com praise Spybot as an exceptional program but I mean, what do they know? They're just professionals right?

eXtraPerformance reviewed v1.3 on May 19, 2004

It is configurable,but you have to know where to look to change the settings.

Zankur reviewed v1.3 on May 15, 2004

excellent anti-spyware program,but could have been better served if it used little less resources!like ad-aware.

paul-white reviewed v1.3 on May 14, 2004

OK, so it found things that Ad-Aware didn't but this program is still over-rated and poorly written. It locked up twice within the first five minutes of being run and is still hungry for resources. It has now been removed from my PC. it may be freeware but it doesn't come up to the standards that I expect of programs that are installed on my PC.

marsovac reviewed v1.3 on May 14, 2004

This is one of those programs that you can rely on... As for the previous posts concerning "Teatimer" - that can be switched off through the program's settings, if you don't want to use it.

dougk2 reviewed v1.3 on May 13, 2004

As far as I can tell, the teatimer memory leak is history. Check the Spybot "Release Candidate" forum at http://forums.net-integr...ndex.php?act=SC&c=7 for details.

christoofar reviewed v1.3 RC5 on May 4, 2004

Can anyone verify that the teatimer.exe HUGE mem leak has been fixed? Was a complete disaster in last version, completely rendering my system unuseable. No response from author about it. If it causes this large of a problem, it shouldn't even be included in the build till it's better managed.Back to 1.2 for me.

sirhardi reviewed v1.3 RC5 on May 4, 2004

Amazing,. has anyonme here at all noticed that the authros have implmented System Restore points now ?

GREAT JOB....it is getting better, the exe hang ups in my documents are fixed as well
Thank you for taking the time and interest to protect the end user .

eL MaesTro reviewed v1.3 RC5 on May 4, 2004

really good, I just wish they could update their adware sig file more often, is like one update per month. Apart from that the program is grat , and IMO should be used together with Ad-Aware 6 .

Dirk van Hoofen reviewed v1.3 RC5 on May 4, 2004

Thank you for it, THis software has found 2 "hiijacker" into my PC. I send 5 EURO to the author, because it help me really.

  reviewed v1.3 RC4 on May 1, 2004

Seriously overrated. Why? I agree that it's a good application, but it is updated so infrequently, it's essentially useless against garbage like CWS which has a new variant coming out all the time. These days, update frequency is everything.

ArKay74 reviewed v1.3 RC4 on Apr 25, 2004

Good program, apart from the TeaTimer (program which residently checks running programs in the background). It has a huge memory leak which can render Windows so unstable that there are no GDI handles left for other programs (you cannot start new programs anymore and windows has problems with drawing). During setup, untick "Use system settings protection (TeaTimer)" on the "Select Additional Taaks" page and you should be fine.

Cheers,
ArKay

marsovac reviewed v1.3 RC4 on Apr 23, 2004

Good work! (Like always...)
Thanks to this and AdAware we can keep our systems clean and safe from such alien crap like RadLight etc....

paulm reviewed v1.3 RC4 on Apr 23, 2004

Look forward to the final release of v1.3. Like Ad-aware SpyBot also works fine on Windows Server 2003, for those of us using W2K3 as a workstation with the IE enhanced security turned off. DAT updates could be a little more regular though.

Prospero424 reviewed v1.3 RC4 on Apr 23, 2004

Great pice of software, especially considering it's price, or rather the lack thereof. Seems like they've been doing a lot of work on the next release, which is nice.

My only complaint is that the definitions aren't updated as often lately. I don't know if it has to do with them being busy on the next release or what.

However, I still find more evil little gremlins with this than I do Ad-Aware. Highly recommended.

sclyde reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 17, 2004

I have to say this is probably the best all around program I have ever used. Since i have installed this my computer has been running the best it ever has been. The best of all is that I havnt had a single pop-up yet! Not to mention it was able to easily clean up the mess of things I had on here. A++, I think its great that you are offering this program for free, but I bet it would sell too. Honostly i have customers at work asking for spyware removers, etc and this is the first program i recommend, over the things that we actually sell.

CyberInferno reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 17, 2004

I'm glad to see development is still going on with this product. The creaters used to update their databases at least weekly, but the last database update was March 4, about a month and a half ago. On the contrary, Ad-aware puts out updates daily or every other day. As a result, ad-aware picks up many more items than spybot does. Spybot does offer the feature of MRU cleaning, though, which is a nice addition. Right now my spyware is mostly combatted by ad-aware and spywareblaster (for blocking). The new version of spywareblaster is very nice.

bc_0100 reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 17, 2004

Best app on the market. Don't bother with anything else.

superdiscofashion reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 16, 2004

The BEST so far!!!

Orbit reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 16, 2004

Thanks, yes I see that. Just lamenting that the program seems to be getting a little top heavy, like so many others. Seems they keep adding bells and whistles trying to be 'it all', instead of focusing on a particular issue.
I still recommend it, and install it on clients' boxes that have been online for awhile with no protection. It sure fixes a lot of internet / browser related issues.

TheLoneIguana reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 16, 2004

Orbit: The resident programs can be turned off. In "advanced" mode, go to tools-->resident.

-Lord- reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 16, 2004

This program is simply awesome... even better than Ad-Aware. I don't like to have resident programs running in the background, so I run it manually every couple of days or so. I can't say enough good things about it. It's built in live-update is one caveat that ad-aware hadn't offered when I reviewed them side by side. Note to author: can you think about adding support for MyIE2, please? That's my browser of choice.

bobad reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 16, 2004

Ah. This one runs in the Tray by default.

The process calls itself "TeaTimer", and has a 5,360KB footprint, which is not trivial. Wonder why it's not called "SpybotTray" or something that doesn't send you running to Google to find out what in the heck it is?

Apparently SpyBot is working toward being a full-blown, resident, active Spyware prevention system. Immunizations have tripled in the last 3 releases, now the resident Tray app by default. I like the direction it's going in, but the author needs to watch the bloat.

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v1.3 RC3 on Apr 16, 2004

What is more bloted? having to run 1 "do-it-all" program or 3 or 4 programs to do the same job? SpyBot is great and kicks the hell out of all other Spyware tools but I wish this was "bloated" in with my firewall and antivirus program all under one roof. No one makes anything good like that though so I need to run 3 secerity aps (SpyBot, Nod32, and Kerio) to do it....

Nighthawk420 reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Mar 4, 2004

Very good program!
Like all tools, there is never 1 that does everything (which is good or it becomes bloated and useless, can you say Symantec).
This will be added to my arsenal along side of Ad-Aware.

eXtraPerformance reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 29, 2004

I've used this product a lot, as well as AdAware. Though I like this program a lot better, I would suggest to anyone who is a "safety freak" to use both, as somethings may be caught by one that isn't by the other. If you haven't downloaded it yet because you're are afraid of what it'll do to your system, a new feature will automatically make a System Restore Point (Windows XP, and ME.) This will allow you to restore your computer to a later date by simply going to "Accessories\System Tools\System Restore" on your Start Menu. Then you simply select the date it last worked properly and "Spybot- S&D Spyware Removal"

robmanic44 reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 27, 2004

I am a big fan of this product. It does everything it says it will do, and more. It crushes AdAware and I'd pay for it. Let's face it, we have all installed stuff that's not a tenth as good as this, and paid for it!

QBgreen reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 24, 2004

Simply put, along with quality anti-virus and anti-trojan software, this is a must have. Run it for the first time and be surprised at what's found.

-Lord- reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 24, 2004

This program is great on several levels. First, it's TRULY freeware. Not free for a few weeks or 30 days, but FREE. Second, it's all inclusive. You do everything from within the program... including updating the definitions. It also has an exclusive scan that will run at the next boot in case you have some spyware that won't unload, and it's customizable. All of this aside, it's pretty important these days to have something that will kill the spyware, and this one is the best I've tried. And did I mention TRULY FREE?

Natrunner reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 23, 2004

This program is much better than Ad-aware and you can't beat the price. This beta hangs up after running a scan. I had to reinstall the older version. I am looking forward to the next version though.

urbanriot reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 23, 2004

Most powerful spyware detector / remover out there, with active updates. Blows Adaware out of the water on features and detections. If you have a hard time downloading updates or it takes a while, make sure you note the "mirrors" tab in the udpates area of the program.

chowmein reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 23, 2004

this program didnt detect any spyware on my PC!
I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!!

superdiscofashion reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 23, 2004

...More and more in this Beta 6:Registry backup,restore system and this time I didn't had to restart my pc.Of course it's still free.5 stars!

TomRC reviewed v1.3 Beta 6 on Feb 23, 2004

Impressive strong freeware tool. Also got some nice extra function beside the adware removal stuff. Simply the best!

Alacrity reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Feb 14, 2004

Am Confused ..... Why is AdAware having more rating/Downloads than Spy Bot? With a bundle of extra features, updates and more adware/spyware catches, I think Spy Bot is way better than AdAware. I scanned my PC with AdAware and then scanned the system with Spy Bot. Spy Bot found 24 other enteries which AdAware had missed. 5 stars to SpyBot.

antonbest reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Feb 2, 2004

Not bad but the load time of the program can be faster

Enamour reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Jan 31, 2004

Slower then ad-aware but still the best...5/5

vietfobster reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Jan 5, 2004

WOW!! finds every stupidware there is!!! much better than ad-aware 6. but hell use them both :-D. also had the "immunity" option. damn this makes other spyware killers look like nothing. get this!! its da bomb!! trust me u wont be disappointed.

elliott_nally reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Jan 5, 2004

Very Nice Program I use it with ad-aware and spy sweeper the 3 are a perfect match And As JoeB Said Change the update server to make the updates work I have found that Fxclips(usa) always works for me

alexmast reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Jan 2, 2004

This is THE BEST application of the kind! I've downloaded it on all my computers, it work just great! One little problem, the update freeze on the default server but I'm pretty sure it will be fixed in the next update!

JoeB reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Nov 8, 2003

pjb, If updated freezes, change the update server... It defaults to UniDo (Europe).

pjb reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Nov 3, 2003

The updater appears to freeze, rendering the programme unusable during the update. Nice UI though.

scodan reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

I hate Ad-aware. Spybot - S&D is the best, and getting better. This version (1.3) has some nice interface improvements.

captainahab reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

Spybot S&D along with Ad-aware are must-have programs.
Patrick Kolla deserves a medal for this.

Floodland reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

Spybot is not only faster, and more customizable than adaware. It also include inmunization against known crap.
6 stars if possible

Dirk van Hoofen reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

Found Ad-Aware and more - full 5 Rates for this FREEware.

Bachalor reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

Thx for this Freeware. This tool has found a "hijaacker" on my system. I was so 'happy', that I send 10 € to the author (a donation) . Super TOOL !!

BK553 reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

I think this program is much better than Lavasofts program. It catches more, faster than Ad-Aware ever has. It isn't as pretty or intuitive, but thats not what is important to me. If you don't think it is better, run Ad-Aware first, then run Spybot to see how much Ad-Aware misses.

SE7ENGREEN reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

Sweet program but I wouldn't replace AdAware with it. I actually use both together. One always seems to pick up something that the other left behind. Spybot & AAW make a hell of a combo.

MadEx2k2 reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

It's a good program, don't get me wrong. It does what it advertises, but it's far behind Ad-aware. Ad-aware is cleaner, easier to use, less annoying. I'll have to give this a 3 out of 5, and now reinstall Ad-aware.

FDisk80 reviewed v1.3 Beta 4 on Oct 23, 2003

Just Awsome.
Uninstalled Ad-Aware 10 minutes after Installed this babe :)

romualdrichard reviewed v1.2 on Mar 17, 2003

What to say? Impressive & Free :)
Great job, thanks!

lordcyber reviewed v1.2 on Mar 17, 2003

I used to be a big fan of Ad-Aware until they stopped issuing updates to the 5.83 version and didn't even bother telling folks. I tried Spybot S&D and liked it so much that I no longer use Ad-aware even though they released 6.0 just recently to me it is very slow and doesn't seem to find as much spyware,etc. as Spybot does. Thumbs up!!!!!

Aires reviewed v1.2 on Mar 17, 2003

This piece of software is excellent. It p*sses all over Ad-aware, especially when they stopped issuing updates and didn't tell the public! (Naughty Lavasoft). Even though Ad-aware 6.0 is now released (with regular updates), Spybot Search and Destroy has now taken it's place on my PC. I just think it's a far superior piece of software. A definite 5 stars!

Perezoso reviewed v1.2 on Mar 17, 2003

Great program!

onetouch reviewed v1.2 on Mar 17, 2003

It's a keeper. 5 from me.

captainahab reviewed v1.2 on Mar 16, 2003

Excellent!

norky reviewed v1.2 on Mar 16, 2003

this program deserves a much higher score. it consistantly finds more spyware than adaware does.

Scipio reviewed v1.1 on Feb 20, 2003

Works great for me. As with any such program, you should be careful how you use it. But it only seems to check known spyware items for deletion. You probably shouldn't check the other items unless you know what they are. As far as I could see, however, none of them were system files.

captainahab reviewed v1.1 on Feb 20, 2003

Spybot Search and Destroy + Ad-Aware = Ultimate Spyware/Adware/Scumware removal. Use them both and love them!

Kimono Ko reviewed v1.1 on Jan 29, 2003

A great program, definitely competition for AdAware. Gets rid of everything, with automatic updates. Many more options including more customizable filters, and the ability to start before windows loads, to get rid of those pesky "protected" files.

justrightclick reviewed v1.1 on Jan 29, 2003

Very nice graphics library. This has the fastest gaussian blur I've ever seen. Five stars for doing a very nice job, but minus one for using a bit too much memory on opening digicam raw files.