Free Antispyware Downloads

My favorite free antispyware downloads:

SuperAntiSpyware has a terrific free version I use regularly. They also sell a Professional Version that does real-time scanning in the background. The free version only scans on demand but is still very useful. I've found many spyware programs on computers that my security suite missed. Go figure.

AVG Antivirus also scans for spyware so I'm including it here. It's a very popular free program.

Windows Defender is Microsoft's antispyware program and is also free for all Windows users. You probably already have this if you have XP, Vista, or 7 but it may not be turned on. Check your security settings in the Control Panel. If you install another antispyware program it will most likely turn off Windows Defender. Then if you uninstall it, there's no guarantee that it will turn in back on.

Spybot Search & Destroy is one of the best free antispyware downloads around and has been around for a long time. It's maintained primarily by donations. I've found numerous spyware infections with this tool that other products didn't find as well.

Ad-Aware Free.   I've use this great Lavasoft product on and off for years and I love it. There's also a "Plus" and "Pro" version available at reasonable cost. There's a comparison chart here that is useful too.

a-squared Free by Emsisoft is a nice product. Like most, they are hoping to sell an upgraded version but the free one finds all kinds of malware, not just spyware so give it a try. I like the marketing phrase they have, "Antivirus was yesterday, anti-malware is tomorrow". They're right.

SpywareBlaster is a comprehensive tool that blasts a bunch of spyware, keyloggers, browser exploits, cookies, hijackers, adware and other toilet scum. They also exist on donations plus they have a business licensing program.

ThreatExpert scans memory for threats that hide under the radar from other security products. Besides, they have a cool map on the home page showing the "Geographic Distribution of Threats".

Spyware Detector is only sort of free. You can scan for free but you must pay to remove any spyware. Still, it could be enlightening just to have one more tool to scan with and know what's going on. Then you can pound your head against the wall for not already having a full security suite and a backup plan.