Michael Magrath’s Blog

Here are some ratings for 3 free antispyware programs. I am rating Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner 1.13.03, Trend Micro HijackThis 2.0.2 and Ad-aware 2008

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner 1.13.03

My Rating    8/10

User Rating   8/10

Publisher’s description of Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner

From Kephyr:

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner detects a multitude of spyware, adware, Trojan horses, keyloggers, and trackware components, sources of irritation that many antivirus products do not deal with. The scanning process only takes a fraction of a second and tells you how to uninstall the invasive spyware or puts you in contact with the spyware developer for the most up-to-date and safe uninstall instructions. Spyware and adware often is bundled with software such as Kazaa, Morpheus, Grokster, iMesh, Xolox, and Gnutella, and in many cases it’s installed without your knowledge. Some send information about your surfing habits to ad companies, which target you with pop-up ads that fit your preferences. Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner search for CoolWebSearch, Gator, GAIN, Bargain Buddy, CommonName, FlashTrack, IPInsight, nCase, SaveNow, and WurldMedia.

download link http://www.download.com/Bazooka-Adware-and-Spyware-Scanner/3000-8022_4-10247782.html?tag=lst-6-3&cdlPid=10377953#editorsreview

Trend Micro HijackThis 2.0.2

My Rating   9.5/10

User Rating    9/10

Publisher’s description of Trend Micro HijackThis

From Trend Micro:

HijackThis lists the contents of key areas of the Registry and hard drive–areas that are used by both legitimate programmers and hijackers. The program is continually updated to detect and remove new hijacks. It does not target specific programs and URLs, only the methods used by hijackers to force you onto their sites.

As a result, false positives are imminent, and unless you’re sure about what you’re doing, you always should consult with knowledgeable folks before deleting anything.

download link http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro-HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10227353.html?tag=lst-6-2&cdlPid=10781312

Ad-Aware 2008

My Rating   8/10

User Rating    7/10

Publisher’s description of Ad-Aware 2008

From Lavasoft:

With the ability to scan your RAM, Registry, hard drives, and external storage devices for known data-mining, advertising, and tracking components, Ad-Aware 2008 can clean your system easily, allowing you to maintain a higher degree of privacy while you surf the Web.

Ad-Aware 2008 includes an improved threat detection, enhanced rootkit removal system, faster updates, Lavasoft ThreatWork to submit suspicious files for analysis, and is now compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista.

download link http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2008/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?tag=lst-6-8&cdlPid=10844457

UPDATE: THIS POLL IS CLOSED