Microsoft's new Malware tools
Microsoft has launched two new software tools, a "Malicious software Removal tool" and a Spyware tool. The Spyware tool is still in beta testing.
Malicious Software Removal
Microsoft has added a tool to remove a few viruses that are exceptionally prevalent. There is nothing wrong with this, but you still need an antivirus program, and if you have one, then you do not need their tool. It probably will not hurt anything, but it only checks for about 8 viruses. This is part of the standard Microsoft Security updates and there is no good reason to avoid it.
Anti Spyware Tool
They bought the software company Giant and are trying to offer the Spyware tool from Giant. Currently there is no charge to beta test it. The Giant program was well respected and pretty good. We will see whether Microsoft improves it or hurts it.
I tried it out. There are pros and cons. On the pro side, it finds and removes spyware well.
On the con side, the install is brain dead and requires another tool to fix. Since I browse safely, I do not get much spyware. So once a month I run a spyware remover and it might find one or two items and remove them, but normally it finds nothing. This is sufficient.
During install I chose to not have it run all the time and not automatically update. I figure that once a month I can update and run it. I do not want it running all the time. It setup to run all the time anyway. Though running, it just would not do anything. There is no way I could find to stop it from running all the time even with nothing to do. I had to use WinPatrol to disable it.
Why don't I want it running all the time? Two reasons:
- Anything that is running is using resources and can potentially cause conflicts.
- Anything trying to connect to the Internet to update is a potential security problem.
The advantages of full time anti-spam software, given my very low risk, was not worth it. There is already a virus with uses this program's connection and continuous use to infiltrate your computer. So if you do not have a raging spyware problem, you do not need to run the risk of having it running all the time.
If you want their product, you can download it at:
I suggest that if you do not have a severe spyware problem, you use WinPatrol to stop it from running all the time. If you do have a significant problem, then change your browsing and downloading habits.
Other excellent free anti-spyware products are: