Spyware, adware, and malware of all descriptions have become an absolute plague recently. Innocent web sites are being hijacked and unsuspecting visitors are attacked without having a clue that anything has happened. It’s important to be protected with antivirus software but when it’s after the fact and you’re already infected, you’re going to need a spyware removal tool and a good virus scanner.

Before we go much further, it should be pointed out here that even best spyware removal tool and best virus scanner in the world can’t guarantee that your computer will be clean after they’ve done their thing. Spyware, adware, malware, viruses, and the like, have gotten extremely sophisticated and they can go to great lengths to save themselves and not be removed. It’s not uncommon to find that the only sure fire way to remove them is a clean install of Windows. Your mileage may vary however.

As a network admin, I find myself using free spyware removal tools and free virus scanners most of the time. My favourite free anti-malware tool is the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows (UBCD4Win). The UBCD4Win includes a ton of freebees that go a long way toward removing spyware and adware. The problem with the UBCD4Win for the average PC user is that it’s both difficult to build the actual boot CD, and it also difficult to use it once it’s built.

On a typical spyware removal or virus cleaning job, I’ll update all of the tools included in my UBCD4Win and then rebuild the ISO file – the file that the actual boot CD is burnt from. Then I’ll boot the infected machine from my UBCD4Win and load EzPcFix.

EZPCFix – a bit of a misnomer, it’s really not all that easy – gives you access to the registry and lets you manually clean up suspicious registry entries, files and folders. If you’re attempting to do this at home, please be careful, it takes a great deal of familiarity with a PC to have a good handle on what’s suspicious and what’s not.

Once I’ve manually removed suspicious items, I run Kaspersky and some other tools with the registry still open in EzPcFix. This is a very manual process but if you’re skilled with building boot CD’s and using the tools on the UBCD4Win, it can easily be argued that it is the best spyware removal tool and the best virus scanner out there.

Most of us don’t have the time or the patience to manually build a boot CD, clean the registry and files, and scan a PC from within a boot CD environment. I’ll be candid – while being careful as well – and say that I’ve endorsed a few spyware removers and virus scanners in my time. Indeed, I supported one of the bigger players in the market for many years until recently I came to realize that it was letting too much in.

In trying to find an alternative, it struck me that many of the security tools I’ve been using over the years include plug-ins for Kaspersky Lab Antivirus. Not AVG, not Norton, not McAfee, but the obscure Kaspersky Lab. Some of the security products that use Kaspersky are the aforementioned UBCD4Win, the excellent MailScanner spam filter, the Untangle security appliance, and many more.

So I decided to give it a shot and am now running Kasperksy on all of my computers and recommending it to all of my clients, even those who bought the other product as a result of my prior recommendation.

Kaspersky handles viruses and spyware and it’s easy enough to manage that someone without a computer science degree can be comfortable with it.

What is my recommendation then for the best spyware removal tool and best virus scanner? If you have the time and skills it takes to build the UBCD4Win, go for it along with a good dose of Kasperksy Labs. If you don’t have the time or skills for the UBCD4Win, you’ll do well with Kaspersky Labs on its own.


Glen L. Bowes
Computer Repair Niagara