For scanning and removing existing spyware samples, Spybot caught five out of eight, missing Compare-Prices.zip, Clickpix, and JustFindIt toolbar. In exclusive testing by CNET Labs, Spybot's active shields identified and blocked five out of eight spyware samples we attempted to install, missing Compare-Prices.zip, Clickpix, and MarketScore. That said, overall, Spybot fell from number one a few years ago to just below average among the antispyware apps we tested.

To achieve that speed, Spybot at times used up to 50 percent of our system's resources, but did so for a significantly shorter amount of time than other products we tested. Spybot - Search and Destroy is very fast, scanning our entire laptop within several minutes. Of all the antispyware apps we tested, Spybot is one of the few to include a free file shredder, which means Spybot can overwrite deleted spyware with 1s and 0s, so the deleted file is truly removed from your system. We also like the ability to apply various skins, but it's the tools that impressed the most. Spybot continues to rival paid antispyware products by offering a number of features not found elsewhere, such as its unparalleled language support. The Advanced menu offers more left-hand navigation options, such as language settings, skins, a scheduler, exclusion lists, tools such as a data shredder, Internet Explorer browser tweaks, and a list of applications that have registered an uninstaller with your system (making it easy to remove these applications). Default mode consists primarily of large buttons for Check for Problems, Recovery (in case you remove something that's important to a program you want to keep), and Search for Updates, with a left-hand navigation option to immunize your system against future installs of known spyware.

There still are two interfaces within Spybot, the default mode and advanced mode. It's a small touch, and we'd like it if other vendors reminded us as well. We like that Spybot still warns upon start-up that removing adware and spyware could disable software on our system.

Cnet spybot free version