RSS| mjm01010101 | Sep 16, 2009 | 2009-08-05 |  1 out of 5 |
Abandoned. |
| jspratjr | Apr 2, 2009 | 2009-04-01 |  5 out of 5 |
"Now really worth the download." Assume you meant "Not" - Totally disagree. Your points are valid IF someone uses the product ONLY to protect against the "latest and greatest" as you say. This program provides so much more, and is a great supplement to real-time protection (commercial or otherwise). |
| roj | Apr 1, 2009 | 2009-04-01 |  3 out of 5 |
Not really worth the download. The long-standing problem with this product is that it's free. Since it's free and maintained by ONE person, he can't possibly keep up with the latest and greatest nasties. That reduces the value of the product enormously. Sorry, but the commercial products and even the freeware products sponsored by commercial concerns stomp all over it and the nasties sail by it laughing. Run your own tests - the truth will immediately become painfully obvious. If you really want to run something that you can use as a supplement to an AV program check out Malwarebytes. It REALLY works. THREE stars for a good effort that falls far short. |
| madmike | Feb 6, 2009 | 2009-02-04 | 5 out of 5 |
The Defacto standard, nuff said |
| siggi | Dec 30, 2008 | 2008-12-30 | 5 out of 5 |
Excellent program...EXCEPT....PLEASE ADD: PAUSE SCANNING. Because when I scan and I would like to PAUSE A WHILE....its NOT POSSIBLE!! I have to stop the whole scanning process!! Thank you very much for your cooperation with your excellent software program |
| Lawrence01 | Oct 1, 2008 | 2008-10-01 | 5 out of 5 |
I trust this more than some of the ones you have to pay for. |
| zeeZee | Sep 7, 2008 | 2008-09-03 | 5 out of 5 |
detection updates are frequent enough, still, after years of being a top piece of software. |
| jaguar | Apr 17, 2008 | 2008-04-16 | 5 out of 5 |
I've been using it for years on all my units (4) and I install it on all the units I build for friends. It does the job and does it very well indeed. And for the price??...even if you paid for your version, don't grumble; other less efficient software costs more and does not come with a free option |
| Project51 | Apr 16, 2008 | 2008-04-16 | 5 out of 5 |
Still the best FREEWARE antispyware. PCmag will of course endorse only the paid antispyware... duh. After that it will ask you if you want to install and pay for Antispam, Antivirus, Antitrojan, Antihack, Antispyware all different product and all with difference pricetag. |
| RWW | Jan 26, 2008 | 2008-01-23 | 5 out of 5 |
Used this for a long time, excellent! theqwerty: Where the hell you come from? Find a friend or brother-in-law or maybe the guy at work that knows a little bit about computers. Fix it. |
| mdn777901 | Jan 17, 2008 | 2008-01-16 | 5 out of 5 |
For what it does, it is intensive. But if you are having hardware problems, you can't blame software for hardware problems. Take your computer to a tech that KNOWS what he/she is doing! |
| marty | Jan 16, 2008 | 2008-01-16 | 5 out of 5 |
Mr or Ms theqwerty: I have not posted a review in quite awhile. Simply put - you are an idiot. Blaming a great program like this on your misuse of your hardware sucks. This program gets better and better. I use it on my three machines with the teatimer has just been great! |
| Reverb | Dec 6, 2007 | 2007-12-05 | 3 out of 5 |
@theqwerty: I have a Toshiba Satellite and Thinkpad T40 and have never witnessed the error with the cooling fan you mention while running SS&D. I do, however notice the 100% CPU consumption when performing scans and the difficulty in downloading updates (probably why they offer the detection updates here versus downloading from within the program). And still no fix for the annoying GUI bug in Teatimer? I realize I can use RESEDIT to hack and correct it but isn't that the developers' job since they have the source? It is for this reason I have reverted to WinPatrol and removed TeaTimer. SS&D still seems to be one the best on-demand freeware scanners in spite of the afore mentioned glitches since they do regular updates on the detection database. |
| mfarmilo | Nov 22, 2007 | 2007-11-21 | 5 out of 5 |
Still an excellent program, and far better than many of the paid ones out there. I use it regularly, on many machines. It does an extremely thorough scan, and hence takes a while (though no longer than many others). Parts of the scan are very cpu intensive, which could well cause problems with inadequately cooled processors. Notebooks in particular are notorious for attracting fur, which may not manifest until running a program like this. A notebook that overheats in that way needs cleaning, which is not the fault of the software run on it. |
| theqwerty | Nov 21, 2007 | 2007-11-21 | 1 out of 5 |
Never ever ever ever ever install it, whatever people say about it :-( It is soooooo bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have few free anti-virus anti-spyware programs (avg, PC Tools Spyware doctor, etc) installed. Everyone seemed to be so excited about this BS program I decided to give it a go. I have had this Toshiba Portege M200 for 1.5 years now at least. After the install and update and immunisation I let it run for about 3 min, my CPU went to 100% (all the time) and I got a following system warning "Warning. A problem with cooling system has been detected, Please turn off this computer immediately, and return it to service". I tried killing all the programs yet I would have 100% and the same warning even when no programs were running at all. Had to switch my notebook off manually, for the first time in a very long time. I changed priority settings inside this BS program to "low". The same result. 100%, reboot with switch off button. few more attempts, the same results. I decided to uninstall this BS program, before that I tried to reverse the changes made to my system (there is an option inside this program). Had to reboot after uninstall. Now every few hours I get the same 100% CPU Usage + cooling system problem. Who is on top of my processes list? "System idle process", "taskmgr", "explorer", opera, services. This program sucks, to be avoided. Never done any reviews but this one is so bad I felt I had to do that. |
| Point Zero | Nov 14, 2007 | 2007-11-14 | 5 out of 5 |
Still one to keep. |
| Golden Falcon | Nov 14, 2007 | 2007-11-14 |  4 out of 5 |
Good program, had it a while. Awesome features of search before windows load (which fixes a lot of things). Good updates. |
| anomoly | Sep 25, 2007 | 2007-09-19 | 3 out of 5 |
It jacks my amd 2000 cpu up 100% and if you mistakenly tell it to update on startup and it gets bad checksum's, it will loop the update process repeatedly (at 100% cpu). I stopped using this for a long time and just recently started using it again. Rather unimpressive for a prog which has been out for years. |
| JonathanD | Jul 18, 2007 | 2007-07-18 | 5 out of 5 |
Its a shame that something like this is even needed... I remember a time when I didnt need a virus scanner or firewall or antispyware ! But since they ARE needed this is a darned good program and since its free that makes it all the better ! |
| boaz | Jun 27, 2007 | 2007-06-27 | 5 out of 5 |
Nice spy-ware/ad-ware scanner & cleaner. I'm glad to see they are still updating it! |
| RaGhul | May 23, 2007 | 2007-05-23 | 5 out of 5 |
@clifton Hahahah, although I too agree that Spybot is a great piece of software, don't be too quick to trash Symantec. Sure, it's a resource hog, but it does provide very good detection. In fact, a few tech friends in my circle have very little RAM consumption with their SAV (Symantec Antivirus Corporate). Unfortunately, Syamantec concentrates their marketing efforts on pushing their bloated 'suite' packages down the line on the consumer level. I wish Spybot 1.5 would come a little faster, but seeing as how it's developed by just one man, I'll have to wait. |
| clifton | Feb 5, 2007 | 2007-02-02 | 5 out of 5 |
This is the best freeware Anti-spyware that I have ever come across. And take a little advice from a professional that has been at this longer than you can count; Stay Away from anything with the name "SYMANTEC" on it. |
| Mlatino187 | Dec 30, 2006 | 2006-12-22 | 4 out of 5 |
free...is the best!!! |
| BUSIAK | Dec 10, 2006 | 2006-12-08 | 5 out of 5 |
Yeah Right! Sorry, SteveJohnSteele inspired me. |
| BUSIAK | Nov 18, 2006 | 2006-11-17 | 4 out of 5 |
Symantec... Year ago I wanted to install Norton AntiVirus 2005 after Norton AntiVirus 2004 and that was impossible. So I change my antivirus software for Avira solution. I don't use Symantec anymore and that's all I want to say about Symantec. |
| SteveJohnSteele | Nov 10, 2006 | 2006-11-10 | 5 out of 5 |
unfortunately Symantec have decided not to allow Norton Internet Security 2007 and SpyBot to be installed on the same PC Shame on you Symantec read more here... http://www.safer-network...en/news/2006-09-29.html |
| paulm | Nov 4, 2006 | 2006-11-03 | 5 out of 5 |
"Have no need for it on my system since I don't install spyware " Constust, Um, your mistaken. Spyware is usually installed without your consent or knowledge. This is where products like Spybot are necessary. The only way you will often know your system is "infected" with spyware is running 2 or 3 antispyware scanners. If you claim to have NO spyware, you either haven't run a scan or you only visit a handfull of sites that are clean. Lucky you if you do. |
| Frostek | Nov 4, 2006 | 2006-11-03 | 5 out of 5 |
"I recently had my first and only spyware infection in several years (a trojan horse). Spybot missed it completely. So, for me the effectiveness of this software is 0%" Given trojan horses have been around for YEARS I'd class them as a virus (albeit one that doesn't actually spread), not spyware. Didn't your virus checker catch it? If you only run anti-spyware and no virus-checking software, that's not so good - the two applications are different, and although Spybot might count some trojans as spyware (eg. keyloggers), it's not really what it's meant for. |
| zapatero | Nov 3, 2006 | 2006-11-03 | 1 out of 5 |
I recently had my first and only spyware infection in several years (a trojan horse). Spybot missed it completely. So, for me the effectiveness of this software is 0%. |
| constust | Oct 20, 2006 | 2006-10-20 | 5 out of 5 |
Have no need for it on my system since I don't install spyware but it's great for cleaning out my relatives computers. |
| NyaR | Oct 20, 2006 | 2006-10-20 | 5 out of 5 |
spybot DOES have an autoupdate tool.. its had it from the start, years ago |
| utomo | Aug 25, 2006 | 2006-08-25 | 4 out of 5 |
Spybot need to update the software too. so it will become better, and include the latest definitions. it will make more people download and use it, and more satisfy. Thanks |
| Orbitration | Aug 19, 2006 | 2006-08-18 | 5 out of 5 |
There are 3 essential apps I use for most of my clients.... This is one of them. It usually gets around 99% of the issues out of the systems when they get infected. HiJack This gets the other 1%. Antivir does a decent job for free, and SpywareBlaster helps to prevent infection. I haven't found one program, free or not, that does it all. Free, did I mention that ? Well, you could donate if you wanted, but it's not required, esp. for home users. |
| mjm01010101 | Aug 19, 2006 | 2006-08-18 | 4 out of 5 |
months later, still no spyware. I don't mean to harp on the point, but really, I haven't seen it in years. It's no longer the issue it was 2+ years ago. |
| jspratjr | Aug 12, 2006 | 2006-08-11 | 5 out of 5 |
Can't beat the price and continues to do it's job just fine. |
| marrix | Aug 5, 2006 | 2006-08-04 | 4 out of 5 |
Cutterschoice, This is an interesting link in your post, indeed what is most curious is that the thread was started 17 March 2005, and the most recent post is 24 April'06. Strange indeed! |
| Cutterschoice | Aug 4, 2006 | 2006-08-04 | 4 out of 5 |
Again this is a review, please read what your writing, although it's dated 2005, you don’t think spyware makers improve as time goes on, all I’m saying is still use free protection, although firefox is better for protection against spyware it is NOT a spyware remover, spybot if free if you don’t use it or a similar item then your a fool, if it picks up nothing then great, but one day it may surprise you, come on a little commonsense, try reading before commenting. |
| mjm01010101 | Aug 4, 2006 | 2006-08-04 | 4 out of 5 |
It's not an issue. I manage a 300 node domain, and we don't have spyware. 1. Run end-users as users. always. 2. Push firefox as their primary browser. 3. No spyware. Yes I still use AV tools, and yes I still scan for spyware, but it doesn't come up anymore. |
| Cutterschoice | Aug 3, 2006 | 2006-07-28 | 3 out of 5 |
I'm surprised there's comments about spyware no longer being an issue, it's not the stuff you know about, it's the ones that you don't know about you have to worry about, and for a free program, get it use it, update it, what do you lose, nothing, but don't rely on this as your only spyware remover it's just a bit outdated, also no one can recommend a product, it's personal preference. |
| mjm01010101 | Jul 22, 2006 | 2006-07-21 | 4 out of 5 |
Indeed, it's less of an issue. I haven't had spyware period since moving to firefox, and I charge more per hour on machines where IE is the primary browser, so spyware isn't as big an issue anymore. |
| CGDracoKZ | Jul 21, 2006 | 2006-07-21 | 5 out of 5 |
I like it, but i don't like it's interface! |
| Psychlone | Jul 14, 2006 | 2006-07-14 | 4 out of 5 |
I use Spybot at least weekly on 5 different machines, and it is an invaluable tool that wouldn't be removed from my rigs if they started to charge money! However, I have only 1 concern. Apparently, Spybot and the Vista themepack available out there are incompatible. On my main rig, I have a Vista themepack (not the Brico pack, but another better one) and every time I try to download updates, it pops up a window with "Cannot start AVI" - and will not let me download anything...so I'm stuck downloading the updates manually. To the devs of Spybot: Is there something that can be done to overcome this minor limitation of this outstanding software? - With so many people in bated anticipation of Vista, and utilizing the Vista themepacks while in wait, I can see this as an escalating problem (imagine all the people who won't immediately be able to get Vista when it's released, but still want the Vista 'Glass' look!!!) 4 Stars for an excellent product. -1 Star for not fixing this ongoing issue (1+ year now) Psychlone |
| ZenWarrior | Jul 14, 2006 | 2006-07-14 |  2 out of 5 |
Spyware is less of an issue?! And from what planet are you? However, Spybot has indeed fallen far behind the times. It has not detected anything (that I *know* is there) in many, many, many scans now. I use it only for its Tools section, and not for spyware. |
| arossetti | Jul 14, 2006 | 2006-07-14 | 5 out of 5 |
"as spyware seems less of an issue these days" That may be one of the strangest, most bizarre comments I've read in a long, long time. Great app. Wouldn't want to do without it. |
| mjm01010101 | Jun 16, 2006 | 2006-06-16 | 5 out of 5 |
Sadly, (or perhaps happily) I'm starting to rely less and less on this product. I think it was a pioneer upon it's introduction and over the years, but it's become less vital as spyware seems less of an issue these days. mjm01010101 will cease to review this one. bye! ;) |
| mjm01010101 | May 19, 2006 | 2006-05-19 | 4 out of 5 |
1. It needs better timeout detection. 2. It needs a better cancellation dialog for when you do update at startup. Spybot needs better network speed detection. i.e., it's not always picking the fastest link for def updates, and often will stall and NOT timeout. Otherwise, great app. I give it a 4.4 |
| roj | May 16, 2006 | 2006-05-16 | 3 out of 5 |
Spybot was a great product. Let me clarify. The program itself is a good one. However, it is useless without adequate definition updates. This operation is essentially one individual who is swamped and cannot hope to keep up with what is happening out in NetLand. Windows Defender on the other hand has a major corporation behind it and catches about 85% of all the spyware thrown at it versus the 30 percent that Spybot does in our corporate tests. If Spybot had the team behind it that Defender does, it would surely shine. As it is, it's next to useless. In terms of useful ness it's worth ONE star. I'll give it THREE because it's a valient, if losing, effort to stand against the dark. |
| rip_pit | May 15, 2006 | 2006-05-12 | 5 out of 5 |
To fix the pop-up size in TeaTimer (when answers buttons are out of the window) you should look for the S&D14GUIPatch file which resolve the bug. Maybe it's fixed in the latests releases but in case you need it, browse this link: http://forums.spybot.inf...ad.php?t=122&page=5 S&D is one of the best in it's category, I mean freeware, powerfull and with regular updates. |
| mjm01010101 | May 5, 2006 | 2006-05-05 | 5 out of 5 |
I tested the reg monitor and decided it was a stupid feature and never used it again. The advanced features are great, hidden for the newbs, and there for the people who need it. |
| bourgeoisdude | May 5, 2006 | 2006-05-05 | 5 out of 5 |
skulker: Update to the latest definition files (5-5-2006 or later). They fix this problem... |
| skulker | May 4, 2006 | 2006-05-02 | 4 out of 5 |
It seems people are posting general reviews of Spybot 1.4 here as well as reviewing the latest release, so I will too. 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. I'm not the only one to report this on other sites. 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 |
| Orbitration | May 2, 2006 | 2006-05-02 | 5 out of 5 |
Seems to work now, no false positives. Thanks for the update ;) |
| bourgeoisdude | May 2, 2006 | 2006-05-02 | 5 out of 5 |
Last version did have a few false positives--I think this release, rather than adding new detections, removed the false positives. No issues like the ones listed below...Spybot works fine with me. |
| Orbitration | Apr 21, 2006 | 2006-04-21 | 1 out of 5 |
Although I use this almost religiously, this update marked two valid files as a dialer and spyware. It called my explorer shortcut (that I made on my quick launch bar) as Sfonditalia Dialer (which it certainly isn't), and it marked a valid Windows file (threadapi.tlb) as BPS Spyware, which is not. I wrote them a quick email about the false positives, but no reply. Just beware of blanketly accepting what Spybot marks as spyware, is all I can say. All of a sudden I don't trust this program like I used to. |
| mjm01010101 | Apr 14, 2006 | 2006-04-14 | 5 out of 5 |
My old trusted padre. Many have come after you, but you and ad-aware are my good, trusted friends. |
| Bachalor | Mar 15, 2006 | 2006-03-10 | 5 out of 5 |
This software support us all, thanks a lot for this. |
| utomo | Feb 12, 2006 | 2006-02-10 | 4 out of 5 |
Good, they need to continuously update the software too. it need some improvements to make the user feel more secure by using this products. |
| terracesider | Feb 4, 2006 | 2006-02-03 | 5 out of 5 |
A working mirror at last. Well done, File Forum. |
| Don Juan | Dec 9, 2005 | 2005-12-09 | 5 out of 5 |
Great piece of software. Download speed isn't an issue anymore since this site is now offered as a mirror to get the updates. |
| Inu-Ya | Nov 5, 2005 | 2005-11-03 | 4 out of 5 |
Updated, yet it still is slow on Downloading and Installing. I give it a 4 just cause I feel they can Improve on the speed of Installing the Updates and mainly Downloading them. |
| bourgeoisdude | Oct 21, 2005 | 2005-10-21 | 5 out of 5 |
Yes! Finally a mirror that will always work! Thanks betanews! |
| 1uk3 | Oct 21, 2005 | 2005-10-21 | 5 out of 5 |
Great program! Full marks! And I agree with wincement, nice one for becoming a mirror BetaNews/FileForum :) you rule! |
| wincement | Oct 21, 2005 | 2005-10-21 | 5 out of 5 |
Wow. It's nice to see Betanews has become an update mirror for Spybot updates. Run the update from inside Spybot, you'll see "BN FileForum (World)" listed as one of the mirrors! BetaNews rocks. As always, Spybot is the single best spyware solution. However, I always recommend using more than one anti-spyware program to make sure you're covered. |
| pyridox | Oct 21, 2005 | 2005-10-21 | 5 out of 5 |
Excellent. Highly reccomend it. I use Spybot & Ad-Aware. What one doesn't find, the other one does. |
| DIRKES | Oct 18, 2005 | 2005-10-17 | 5 out of 5 |
Only good experiences with it. Thanks to the author. |
| rafaelcage | Sep 24, 2005 | 2005-09-23 | 5 out of 5 |
It is fantastic and freeware!!! |
| guevara | Aug 27, 2005 | 2005-08-26 | 5 out of 5 |
exelent |
| Master- | Aug 26, 2005 | 2005-08-26 | 5 out of 5 |
Yes, one of the best! 5/5 |
| tmaioli | Aug 26, 2005 | 2005-08-26 | 5 out of 5 |
Great product...always updating....and a must have. Thanks for a great product, one of the best. |
| kuncung | Jun 24, 2005 | 2005-06-24 | 5 out of 5 |
I think we all use & need this programs because we connected to internet almost all times. And that's where ads and spy's came into our computers. So, if you're not connected to the internet, you wouldn't need this update or this program at all. So, i think the statement should be "if you have difficulty to use internal update" or something like that. I use it, and powerfull enough for me. |
| cricri_pingouin | Jun 20, 2005 | 2005-06-17 | 5 out of 5 |
It is better because you can download the update, put it on whatever portable drive/media, and update the software on the computer of whoever do NOT have access to the internet! I can't believe some people actually need to be explained stuff like that. Anyway, 5 from me, Spybot works great on all the machines I have it installed on, along with Ad-Aware Personal. |
| anomoly | Jun 11, 2005 | 2005-06-10 | 5 out of 5 |
"without the need for the included web update"? Let's see. I am on a web page now. How is this better? stupid a** statement |
| Bachalor | Jun 3, 2005 | 2005-06-02 | 5 out of 5 |
Absolutely helpfully and meaningfully - thanks for this Freeware. |
| mark777 | Sep 14, 2003 | 2003-09-13 | 5 out of 5 |
Correction -- the program is good, but the updater should check if the program had been installed prior to proceeding with its install. |
| christoofar | Sep 6, 2003 | 2003-09-03 | 5 out of 5 |
I've been using this freeware app for quite some time now (& have donated to the author for it) It works well, is often updated, and has found several exploits & scumware for me. I never used a stopwatch to time it. I could care less... Great app! |
| ogman | Sep 5, 2003 | 2003-09-03 | 5 out of 5 |
A great program just gets better. Kudos to the developers. |
| Floodland | Sep 5, 2003 | 2003-09-03 | 5 out of 5 |
Spybot is the best spyware remover upto date. I was using just adaware before, and tried spybot curiosly. Well, I found that is GREAT, the best, and it is more customizable, have inmunization against some spywares and is FAST. I saw adaware 6 hanging (while scanning) for no aparent reason too much times lately. I expected a better program in adaware 6, and I think they made it worse than 5.xx, not better. I can't understand who said spybot is slower than adaware: Adaware scans every file/registry key on hard disks, and spybot just scan for known bad folder/files/registry keys. So, adaware could be faster only if you have a really small hard disk to scan and and a pretty small registry. Otherwise, spybot is faster. I used both products on LARGE amount of different machines and found spybot is faster, allways. |
| chichiri | Sep 5, 2003 | 2003-09-03 | 5 out of 5 |
Yes jcgamer, you're right, I tested both on my AthlonXP 1700+ here and SSD takes 92 seconds where Ad-Aware takes a mere 29 seconds. Thats a breathtaking Difference of 62 seconds and as you are probably a very important person, whos minutes are worth 1000s, you are more than justified in giving that 1 star rating and making it look like a bad piece of software for the casual viewer here.... |
| Bluezion | Sep 5, 2003 | 2003-09-03 | 5 out of 5 |
Ok...Adaware is really faster than Spybot. But since you mention that the latter is a good program, how is it that it worths a "bad rating"?!? Just because it's slower, it sucks? Pathetic... |
| jcgamer60 | Sep 5, 2003 | 2003-09-03 | 1 out of 5 |
look spybot is a good program but its not even close to the speed of adware. 20-30 seconds? Are you idiot the new adware 181 built is MUCH faster. |
| drzeyd | Aug 16, 2003 | 2003-08-14 | 1 out of 5 |
I like Spybot Search & Destroy, but this updater contains at least 2 files whose checksums are in error so it does not install properly. After using it, you will NOT be able to scan your system. Instead, use the UPDATE button on the program and try one of the mirror sites to download the Aug 15 updates--some of these also have the checksum error. There is one site in Australia that can be used to successfully used to download the updated files. |
| mikisu | Aug 15, 2003 | 2003-08-14 | 5 out of 5 |
Its there on the official site under SOFTWARE |
| jasinwa | Aug 1, 2003 | 2003-07-21 | 3 out of 5 |
Unknown...but how come my actual program updater won't find this and it's not on the Spybot website... I'd be cautious on this one! |
