What is spyware?


Spyware has ousted computer viruses as the biggest Internet threat in 2006, as a survey conducted by America Online found 80% of personal computers connected to the Internet are infested with spywares.

A spyware represents any malware (Spyware, keylogger, adware and others) that installs on your computer without your knowledge or consent.

Once the spyware is comfortably installed on your hard disk, it start doings its dirty job, which is usually collecting private information such as your browsing habits, and relaying the info over the Internet to a mysterious third-party.

The privacy concern is only one possibility in a handful of side effects. Other annoyances include your computer’s memory drained by the malwares, your browser swamped with pop-ups or a slower internet connection.

Where do we get spyware from?

Let’s make something clear: spyware existed long before the Internet. The growing popularity of the information gateway only profited the malware boom over the recent years.

Not only can you become infected from questionable websites, but you can get contaminated without clicking on anything! The more advanced spyware will access through your system while you are just surfing downloading the textual content.

You can also get infected with malware when downloading software such as wallpapers and other freeware, leaving you perplexed about what is safe to download and what is not.

So how do you know if you are infected, and if so, how to get rid of it?

Luckily for us, software exists that not only removes spyware out of your system, but patches the hole to ensure they don’t come back. Some of them are free, although these spyware cleaners’ lack reliability and a strong auto update engine.

Even worse, many of them profit from your vulnerability by having their own malware packaged with their “anti-spyware”. This means when trying to remove spyware, you end up being more infected than at the beginning!

This is why 6StarReviews strongly recommend investing in protecting your privacy, and equipping your system with a recommendable spyware detector.

Of course this is a competitive market, and many solutions exist, all of them with their own strengths and weaknesses. So which spyware detector is the most suited for your system? Find out by reading this summary.

• User Interface: A good user interface will focus on the basic features, and should remove spyware within a few clicks from the main screen. Here are our favorites:

• 1st place: StopZilla: This spyware detector was a unanimous choice in this category, as we found the interface extremely intuitive.

• 2nd place: CounterSpy: Both the advanced and beginner user will feel at ease using this software, as it offer an interesting blend of technical and basic features.


• Product Application: This is without a doubt the most important element of any spyware detector. In our investigation, we installed known malware on our test computer, and let each spyware detector run their scan. And the winners are..:


• 1st place: StopZilla: We especially like the black list feature, as you can see in real-time the threats being blocked as you surf the web.

• 2nd place: Spy Doctor: Even if the immunization features are more for the advanced user, their auto-update feature is one of the strongest in the industry.


• Features Selection: Features represent the biggest gap among spyware detectors. Many simply offer the basic choices, while others try to win you over with all their bells and whistles. Let’s see which spyware cleaners take the lead in this category:

• 1st place: Spy Doctor: This spyware detector offers Instant Messaging protection, and features the advanced OnGuard technology.

• 2nd place: CounterSpy: Wipe off files from your system, active-protection and the opportunity to join an online community dedicated to fighting spam are only a couple of the reasons behind selecting this spyware cleaner.

• Software Pricing: The price is always a deciding reason when about to make a purchase. Most products run around the same range of price, although we found theses two to be good deal:


• 1st place: CounterSpy: At $19.95 for a one-year subscription, this is by far the lowest price in our pool of software cleaners. And better yet, you can save 40% on the second license.

• 2nd place: CA Anti-Spyware: Perfect if you are managing a small business or protecting each family pc, this spyware cleaner comes with three licenses, which means three computers are protected with the same account.

*Notable mention to StopZilla for their $10.00, easy to obtain mail-in rebate.

• Customer Support: Of course, no investigation would be complete without testing the customer service. Spywares are getting more advanced as the Internet develops and you’ll need all the help you can get in protecting your system:

• 1st place: StopZilla: Some of us are better at explaining problems through a keyboard. This is why we like their live chat support so much. Also, we received an answer to our inquiry within a day – a rare achievement in this industry.

• 2nd place: CounterSpy: We got through the phone support on the first ring, without maneuvering through a phone menu. Need to say more?