Free Anti Spyware Programs Variety

Thousands Internet users open their favorite search engines in the hope to find a nice and free anti spyware. They thinks it's easy because freeware applications simply abound and what could be easier than to find a free security program? There should be an assortment of such; as long as somebody creates burning software and firewalls, why shouldn't somebody code anti spyware solely to offer the software for free?

In many cases their investigation ends in frustration. Why? Because there's a difference between what people want to find and what the Web offers.

Free anti spyware programs available for download can be divided into several groups, each having characteristic features.

1. Time-limited trial versions of commercial products. Usually they're fully functional for a couple of weeks or a whole month. Spyware Detector makes an example of such software; it's not available in feature-limited free edition but only as a trial valid for 30 days of use. Trial software is great because of several reasons: it allows to remove current infections without the need to pay for a license key (which is dangerous to perform on a spyware-full computer), test program's compatibility and overall performance, and check out the manufacturer's support to see how it reacts to potential customer's questions.
2. Fake anti spyware applications. They are named so that to resemble a well-known and reputable product. Examples are Adware Alert (apparently mimicking Lavasoft Ad-Aware) and Search and Destroy (sound very similar to popular SpyBot Search & Destroy). They even use similar interface tabs and colors to further mislead potential victims.
3. Modules of Internet Security Suites. ESET, Kaspersky and AVG don't offer anti spyware protection as stand-alone programs, therefore it's impossible to download them without whole software package with all its enhancements like Outlook add-ons and parental controls.
4. Malicious programs, also known as rogues. Sadly, this is a huge group, perhaps outnumbering all the previously mentioned. Of course technically these programs have nothing to do with anti spyware and bring nothing but problems to unsuspecting PC owner. Malicious programs are typically pushed onto target computers by trojan viruses and then use all kinds of aggressive advertizing to make the victim purchase a so-called "license key". Spyware Destroyer, Malware Destructor, SpyGuard and hundreds other similar rogue security programs are rip-offs. Many of them share one and the same minimalistic interface design which is a sure proof they have been designed by one and same group of scammers. Malicious anti spyware scanners display erroneous results only to scare users of an infected machine.
5. On-demand scanners. These are truly safe, legitimate anti spyware programs which deserve a lot of praise. Lavasoft Ad-Aware, SUPERAntiSpyware, Malwarebyte's, EMSI Software a-squared anti-malware offer free editions of their software which are built on the base of scanning engines of commercial products, but come with certain features disabled/deactivated. Typically real-time protection and scheduled scans are not available in free editions. Automatic updating services don't function and are replaced with manual updating procedure.
6. Free scanners. This is a group of legitimate anti spyware software claiming to proudly provide customers with something called Free Scan. In reality, there's little to boast here. Free scan means you are allowed to check your system for spyware traces, but to remove them you will have to purchase a license key or subscription. This old-fashioned marketing approach is still being used by some vendors (like Paretologic).
7. Sometimes Internet Service Providers offer some anti spyware package as part of its broadband services to attract more customers. These packages usually include antivirus engine as well to meet the basic requirements for Web security. Of course ISP's don't develop proprietary anti spyware; they just rebrand some manufacturer's product and distribute it under the condition of using inside a particular ISP's network only.
8. Finally, we've come to real free anti spyware programs. SpyBot Search & Destroy was mentioned earlier, but there's Spyware Terminator as well. Both these programs are full-featured products with real-time protection and automatic updates (features, typically disabled in free editions of paid anti spyware products).

I hope this article will help you to understand better what's going on in the world of free anti spyware programs and make the right choice when necessary.