# Any good free anti-spy ware? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219 "2008-07-21T03:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/1 "2008-07-21T03:12:09Z")
Yes, I’m cheap. (If that turns you on, PM me.) Spy-Bot isn’t free anymore. Lots say they are free, but what the mean is you can download, install & run it, it’ll say, “Yup found 342 spies,” and if you want to do anything about it, well, pony up. I hate that. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/2 "2008-07-21T03:19:19Z")
[SuperAntiSpyware](http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html) [Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware](http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php) Both have free versions that find and remove spyware. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/3 "2008-07-21T03:30:06Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] Yes, I’m cheap. (If that turns you on, PM me.) Spy-Bot isn’t free anymore. Lots say they are free, but what the mean is you can download, install & run it, it’ll say, “Yup found 342 spies,” and if you want to do anything about it, well, pony up. I hate that. [/QUOTE] Bwaah? According to this page the license for Spybot Search and Destroy V1.6.0.30 is listed as **freeware**. 😕 ETA [Forgot link](http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Spybot_Search_and_Destroy/1043809773/1) ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/4 "2008-07-21T03:48:57Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] Bwaah? According to this page the license for Spybot Search and Destroy V1.6.0.30 is listed as **freeware**. 😕 ETA [Forgot link](http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Spybot_Search_and_Destroy/1043809773/1) [/QUOTE] Um, yeah, what? The version I’m running is free. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/5 "2008-07-21T04:15:15Z")
Yeah, seriously, check again. I’ve got Spybot S&D and have had it for years, free of charge. ??? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/6 "2008-07-21T04:31:58Z")
IIRC Spybot doesn’t offer the free ride anymore but granfathered the service for those who had it earlier. I’ll check out **Rick** ’s link though. Good God, I’m so gummed up that finding & downloading is like trying to treat an asthma attack with an inhalant remedy! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/7 "2008-07-21T04:36:22Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] Spy-Bot isn’t free anymore. [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > Spybot-S&D has long grown a full-time job for me and causes quite a lot of work for our volunteers. I am working hard and it is great fun to do it. Of course all the infrastructure we use causes costs, and I have got to live on something, but at the same time **I believe in free software. Therefore I decided to keep Spybot-S&D free and give you the freedom to decide if and how much it is worth to you.** > > If you can spare a few bucks, please donate to our cause. This is purely voluntary though - if you do not donate, you will not get less support from us. Source: [Spybot 2.9 Download - Spybot Anti-Malware and Antivirus : Spybot Anti-Malware and Antivirus](http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/8 "2008-07-21T04:53:39Z")
Windows Defender apparently isn’t junk, either. Put in some free AVG, and with the three of them, or Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware to make four, you have quite a bundle to fight back against teh evel interwebs. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/9 "2008-07-21T14:48:46Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] Windows Defender apparently isn’t junk, either. Put in some free AVG, and with the three of them, or Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware to make four, you have quite a bundle to fight back against teh evel interwebs. [/QUOTE] May not be junk, but it’s annoying as _hell_. I got rid of it after three days. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/10 "2008-07-21T15:07:16Z")
Ok, got SpyBot to run. It found a bunch of stuff that Super Antispyware didn’t. Wonder why I thought I had to _buy_ SpyBot? ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/11 "2008-07-21T15:08:58Z")
AVG Spyware is free and supplies updates on a regular basis. Just google AVG. They do an anti-virus package as well. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/12 "2008-07-21T15:11:44Z")
[QUOTE=Stryfe] AVG Spyware is free and supplies updates on a regular basis. Just google AVG. They do an anti-virus package as well. [/QUOTE] AVG AntiSpyware [has been discountinued](http://free.avg.com/ww.download-avg-anti-spyware-and-anti-rootkit). Antispyware and antivirus have been combined in AVG Free Edition 8.0 now. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/13 "2008-07-21T20:09:17Z")
Avast anti-virus does has Spyware checking too. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/14 "2008-07-21T22:04:16Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] AVG AntiSpyware [has been discountinued](http://free.avg.com/ww.download-avg-anti-spyware-and-anti-rootkit). [/QUOTE] Which means you can’t get it, but it costs less now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/15 "2008-07-22T01:27:57Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] Wonder why I thought I had to _buy_ SpyBot? [/QUOTE] Bad drugs. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/16 "2008-07-22T01:38:14Z")
[Clamwin](http://www.clamwin.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/17 "2008-07-22T11:03:30Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] AVG AntiSpyware [has been discountinued](http://free.avg.com/ww.download-avg-anti-spyware-and-anti-rootkit). Antispyware and antivirus have been combined in AVG Free Edition 8.0 now. [/QUOTE] Sorry, wasn’t aware of that. My Spyware still updates, although my v7.5 antivirus does not. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/18 "2008-07-23T03:49:55Z")
[Ad Aware](http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php) is a great free program to use alongside Spybot S&D. What one misses the other picks up. Link is for the 2008 version, so people with older versions check it out. ---
**Author:** ![bat312](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@bat312](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bat312)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/19 "2008-07-23T04:05:24Z")
I have Spybot and Ad-Aware. Love Spybot, Ad-Aware seemed a little complicated…or I’m just thick. I never figured out how to use it. Any pointers? ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219/20 "2008-07-23T15:36:41Z")
[QUOTE=Apocalypso] [Ad Aware](http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php) is a great free program to use alongside Spybot S&D. What one misses the other picks up. Link is for the 2008 version, so people with older versions check it out. [/QUOTE] I ran both AdAware and AVG Free for quite a while, to check which one worked better. AVG found items that AdAware missed, every single week. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-free-anti-spy-ware/457219.md?page=2)