RateItAll: The Opinion Network

before microsoft ruined this product it was a great free product but this version was bought by sunbelt and became counterspy. we have to pay for this and get the windows defender instead. im rating this as windows defender cause antispyware beta 1 was awesome while defender is something but not awesome.

Thought I was going to like it. In short time I was unable to open or save attachments from email, unable to download and execute software and unable to save to try and run later. After un-install all was normal. Curious thing I have Windows Defender also on notebook computer and there is no problem. I posted on Microsoft forum and someone replied they had one computer that did the same. He stated if I was interested he could help me doing deleting and copy and paste of things in the Registry. I would really have crashed my computer.

I've been using this since it came out. It has found only one obect since I've had it. Adware and Search and destroy have found countless objects. Which one do you think I've removed from my system???

If you are running XP, this is the one to get. It's "beta" (Version 1.0.615, today) so it's being improved every day. It found stuff that Spybot (next most favorite) didn't find. The default scan scans all folders. It also has deep scan settings. Extra tools are built in such as "system explorers." These are very nice not found in other programs and will display all your Active-x, winsock layers, and most important Running Processes. But it's not your typical process screen. It actually identifies it as a "known process" and a lot of file details. For those who like Hijack This, you'll find a lot of real-time info that is a snapshot in Hijack This. OK, so we're suppose to hate Microsoft. If you've been around long enough you will remember a time that MS Word was junk and WordPerfect was the best of the best. If Microsoft puts their mind to anything they can do it and do it better than anyone. This program isn't an attempt to "compete" with Spybot or Ad-aware. This is like so many paths that Microsoft has traveled down before. This "will" be a part of future OS's. Yeah, that's probably why you hate them... take the little guy's idea, make it better then make it impossible for them to compete. Love or Hate them, this is another MS Word in the works. This isn't the typical, "Hey that's a good idea, let's steal it." Nope, I don't think that it the situation here at all. Microsoft has received a lot of flack about spyware and viruses. Linux has made MS look like the Swiss cheese of holey software. Microsoft has determined that they don't want to tighten up their browser, office, or outlook since it will lose some of the functionality. In return they are going to incorporate Microsoft Antispyware in their OS as a tool. IOW, admitting that they can't insure privacy but they can check, detect it, and delete it. Even today they offer "real time" protection and even has manageable setting for the real time protection. For instance, in this version it has 59 "checkpoints on duty." You can disable the checkpoints and view each one, what it does and it's success to date. Yeah, this isn't simply going to be the "ultimate" Antispyware software... it's going to be just another part of future OS features. Each automatic upgrade dumps in more an more features. Don't let the Version 1.0 fool you. That is version 1.0.615. IOW, look at the six hundred and fifteen. Once out of beta, this will be a nice little new version 1.0. So as not to confuse, I don't know for a fact this will be incorporate in future OS's but I've watched MS since the early DOS days and the Modus Operandi tells me that they are not here in the spy world to be another "me too."

Well, it's probably better than nothing. As is Windows Firewall. But I wouldn't pin my system's security on either. The biggest thing I noticed is that it doesn't look at your entire system. And there's no indication of why. It typically looks at less than 20% of the file system, and less than 5% of the registry (??) Try as I might, I cannot conceive of any plausible explanation for why this is 'O.K.'! I think I'd look elsewhere for something that's got a track record and reputation (and real support! Not the Oh, yeah, well what makes you qualified for us to listen to you! typical Microsoft support screen). You may disagree, but I hope you'll enumerate specifics, not general opinions.

Typical anti Micro$ crap. This product works just fine.