What is a good free tool to detect and remove spyware these days?
Way back when it was SpyBot - Search and Destroy, but looking at that package again the free version seems to be cumbersome and in the end largely useless.

Hopefully someone else will answer as my experience with owning a Windows machine is several years old now.

-- You also have to love the fact that Microsoft has left access to notifications largely open and I find people left and right who are taken by the random "McAffee" or other anti-virus warnings that their system is infected. They don't even have these packages installed on their systems.

I saw similar things to this in the past. In some cases, it was something
that persisted after a "free trial" came installed on a new system and was later removed after the trial was over. I have also seen them come up as browser pop-ups initiated on websites and, as you pointed out, sometimes
just randomly.

Mike

* SLMR 2.1a * Remember: 'i' before 'e', except in Budweiser
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

What is a good free tool to detect and remove spyware these days?

>> Way back when it was SpyBot - Search and Destroy, but looking at that packa
>> again the free version seems to be cumbersome and in the end largely useles

Hopefully someone else will answer as my experience with owning a Windows

>machine is several years old now.

-- You also have to love the fact that Microsoft has left access to

>> notifications largely open and I find people left and right who are taken b
>> the random "McAffee" or other anti-virus warnings that their system is
>> infected. They don't even have these packages installed on their systems.

I saw similar things to this in the past. In some cases, it was something

>that persisted after a "free trial" came installed on a new system and was
>later removed after the trial was over. I have also seen them come up as
>browser pop-ups initiated on websites and, as you pointed out, sometimes
>just randomly.

It looks like these programs are still available for Windows 11.
The computer I use daily, I let the Windows Defender and Firewall
do what it can but to those I added 2 other services I've used
for decades, and I've not had a virus on my computers since 1999..

Spyware Blaster modifies your Registry blocking the places
where Viruses and such install their commands to do harm..
This one has to be updated regularly to keep on top of things.

And WinPatrol keeps an eye on the system files to make sure
nothing is trying to alter those files to load anything when
booting and such..

I have had warnings, often not necessary since I was changing
settings or installing things myself but, better safe than sorry..

I've always just used the free versions of these as well..

I do keep the Defender Database up to date every few days and
it runs a quick check looking for problems and, for what it's
worth, I have not had a warning of an actual Virus trying to
install itself on my system in years..

There are still some anti-virus programs with a less fancy
free version that doesn't expire (I think) but it's a while
since I've added on one of those,

All that said, finding nasty things is often highly dependent
on the web sites you visit and, other than infotmation sites,
I don't go to the more dangerous sites anymore so I'm less
likely to run into that..

Oh, and my browser (Opera) also blocks a lot of stuff, ads and
pop-ups and trackers, acting almost like a VPN (and if I need
more protection it has an actual basic VPN built into it).
I know that it is working fairly well since a lot of sites
refuse to allow me access since they can't break into my
system to find info on me or send me ads and trackers and such..

The version I have on my (Win 7) computer is older and doesn't
keep track but I also run Opera on my Android phone and since
installed it's blocked over 23,600 ads and killed 73,400 trackers.

---
* SLMR Rob * Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is Genius
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)