To protect yourself from malware, you need a real-time monitoring program that can stop the malware from installing itself immediately.
There are a few great free anti-malware programs that don’t include real-time monitoring, but most of them do. If you don’t have any recent infections or malware, you probably know how to avoid these types of scams. However, if you’re unsure about whether something is legitimate or not, it might be a good idea to purchase a premium anti-malware program.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
One of the best tools for repairing malware infections is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. The free version includes anti-malware, anti-spyware and anti-rootkit protection. The big downside to the free version is that it does not include real-time protection or automated scans, so malware would not be blocked from installing itself onto your system and would only be removed once you ran a manual scan.
The program is overall a great tool to remove any malware on your system. However, the real value of the program is in the real-time monitoring and protection available only in the premium version. ..
Spybot Search & Destroy
Spybot is a reliable spyware removal tool that has been around for many years. It is often updated to keep up with the latest spyware and malware threats. ..
Spybot installs automatically, but you can choose to have it protect you or give you more control over how it works.
Once you run the program, you’ll need to click the update button on the second window to download the latest signatures.
The free version of the software only has malware and rootkit protection, not virus protection. The paid versions have more features, including live protection. ..
The website blocking feature on the Immunization website is a great way to keep yourself and your family safe from malware. It’s not enabled by default, so you’ll have to manually enable it. ..
Ad-Aware
Ad-Aware is a great antivirus program that I highly recommend. When installing the program, make sure to uncheck the two boxes for SecureSearch as that is not really worth it. Google does just fine protecting your searches.
Ad-Aware is a great program that supports real-time protection in the free version. It has several paid versions, but you get a lot of protection without having to pay anything.
In the free versions, you can’t get email protection.
SUPERAntiSpyware
SUPERAntiSpyware is a program that has been around for a long time and it’s one of the most popular spyware/malware removal programs on the market. It’s been used by many people over the years and it’s become better over time.
Kaspersky is one of the most popular anti-spyware programs, but it doesn’t include real-time protection, scheduled scans or automatic updates. The paid version is $20 a year, but it’s a yearly fee. I’m willing to pay companies like Kaspersky a yearly subscription fee because they do an excellent job, but I really don’t think SUPERAntiSpyware is worth $20 every year. If you plan to purchase an anti-spyware program, it’s best to pick one of the above-mentioned ones instead. ..
AdwCleaner
AdwCleaner is a program that is designed to clean your computer of any adware, browser hijackers, and other malicious programs.
The program is very simple to use and there are no options to configure. Just click Scan, then go through the tabs to make sure everything checked is unwanted and then click Clean.
The program caught a lot of malware that other programs sometimes miss, so that’s why I have mentioned it here. In my opinion, after using malware programs for the last 15 years, these are the best options in terms of freeware. I would highly recommend, though, purchasing a full version of one of the programs for real-time protection. Enjoy!
