Surprisingly, choosing anti spyware is different from choosing anti-virus software. We all know Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky and other world renowned brands. It's next to impossible to push a no-name anti-virus product these days. So choosing anti-virus basically comes down to price options and personal preference.
With anti spyware, it's different. There are hundreds of products, with new popping up every day. They are sometimes promoted in most aggressive ways. Considering the wave of fake anti spyware programs, a person from the outside of IT world can easily get confused about available anti spyware software. What to download? Why anti spyware A is better than anti spyware B? Do I need to look for detection rates or rather fast scanner? Will anti spyware with built-in anti-virus perform better than without one?
Questions abound. Asking for recommendation on tech forums and blogs can make your head go dizzy. So I decided to make a shortlist of features and options you most likely will want to see in your anti spyware program. It is not comprehensive enough to cover all aspects of anti spyware protection, but will suit most PC users.
1. Your anti spyware should have a background history. Developing a quality software products takes time and efforts, so a couple of years is the bare minimum behind anti spyware existence. It's hard to imagine a totally new product to impress the world with outstanding performance that beats all competitors.
2. Visit the manufacturer's website. Does it list any contact data? Is there an updated list of latest threats?
3. Normally anti spyware will have some kind of trial mode within which software is fully functional. Providing "free scan" only is an old-fashioned approach.
4. My observation allows to conclude that quality anti spyware programs are not marketed through the Clickbank affiliate network. I can't make any assumptions as to why my favorite software companies avoid distributing their products via Clickbank, but as a rule of thumb every anti spyware listed in CB Marketplace is either fake or outdated. There are much better performers out there!
5. Every decent anti spyware has both fans and critics. However, only fake software is characterized with attributes "scam" and "dangerous threat". Often security makers like McAfee and Panda will list names of fake anti spyware products on their websites.
6. Pay attention to Scan Modes. Usually anti spyware programs provide 3 modes Smart, Full and Custom. Some programs will have more scanning options than others, but a lonely button "Scan" with no configuration options should alert you.
7. Nearly all anti spyware applications include a list of common settings, e.g browser hijack prevention, HOSTS file guard, on-demand scan etc.
8. No software can be called ethic without option to remove it from the list of start-up programs. If you can't stop it from auto-running or it doesn't let such option at all, there's a chance your product is not what it claims to be.
9. These days you can't expect to stay protected with anti spyware that received signature updates twice a month. My favorite programs of this class get updated at least daily.
10. A decent security program is programmed with customer in mind. Using system resources intelligently and carefully is a very important criterion of quality software. You don't have to sacrifice CPU time and memory to stay protected.
Unobtrusive program, silently running in the background is what I expect from anti spyware.
Source: http://www.articledashboard.com By: charlemont
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