What's the Best Anti-Malware?

This is another question we get all the time here and, as with Anti-Virus software, the question is impossible to answer.

   Note

For the purpose of this thread, I am differentiating between viruses and other types of malware. For information relating to Anti-Virus software click here

The following is a guide to choosing the right Anti-Malware program for your needs.

Free or paid?: There are some who consider free anti-malware products to be inferior to products that cost. This is false. There are a number of free options available and some are considered to be very high quality products.

Installation and Setup: Quality software should simply work. Installation should be straight forward and there should be advanced installation and set up options for advanced users. Once configured and running the software should do its job silently and remain unobtrusive.


Detection Rates: This is the most important consideration when choosing anti-malware software. Reviews vary from site to site so do not rely on just 1 review. Read a number of different reviews to gain perspective. Testing methods differ so choose a product that scores near the top consistently.


Scanning Speed: The rate at which a product scans the system will vary greatly between products. Again, read a number of reviews and pay attention to the test system they used to get a more closer comparison to your own.


Features: Do you require on-access scanning? Can you customize the types of scans to run? Can you schedule unattended scans? Many scanners are feature rich while others are basic. Which features you require will depend on your internet habits. Not all anti-malware software has anti-spam features incorporated into the software. If you do not already have anti-spam protection built in to your email service (think Gmail), then this should be another feature to look for.


Automatic Updates: Updating your anti-malware program's database is vital. New threats emerge daily so you want to feel that you are being protected at all times. If the program you choose does not update itself automatically, you will need to ensure you have a system in place to remind you to update regularly.
Whichever anti-malware program you decide on there is one very important detail to remember. Do NOT solely rely on it to protect your system. Always run anti-malware software together with a quality a quality anti-virus program.


A list of some of the more popular programs follows. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list by any means. If the program you are looking for is not on the list, search the threads. Chances are that somebody has written about it.


Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
SUPERAntiSpyware
Spy Sweeper
CounterSpy
Spybot Search & Destroy
Spy Ware Doctor

hackerman1 said:

i suggest you add a-squared to the list....

Just my observations but asquared does a decent job at detection but is very poor at cleaning infections. An Emsi rep made this comment "Our philosophy is that once a system is infected, the only way to guarantee safe working is to format and rebuild the operating system… Cleanup in general and cleanup testing is nonsense. Once infected, you can't trust the system anymore. Then it doesn't make a difference if there are some traces left after cleanup or not."(source)

While I tend to agree in a way, I don't think this inspires much confidence for the average user.

Hello tw33k, +1 for Counterspy. Its Vipre AV's younger brother.

Dinesh said:

Hello tw33k, +1 for Counterspy. Its Vipre AV's younger brother.

Sure is...

I hope this will soon be a Sticky...

alwinwinjoe said:

I hope this will soon be a Sticky...

Someone heard you