Note: The following review was posted January 18, 2006. Microsoft Anti-Spyware has since evolved into Microsoft Windows Defender, built in to Windows Vista and available for Windows XP via download. You can read our full review of Windows Defender here: http://www.pcmech.com/show/reviews/916/
For this week’s Freeware Frenzy, I will be taking a look at Microsoft’s AntiSpyware 1.0 Beta. While this program is still in beta form, it is freely available for anyone looking for another solution to the growing spyware problem. Microsoft claims to have higher detection rates then the other third party apps on the market, and I wanted to see if Bill and the gang are really up to the challenge.
Installation is painless; you need only to answer a few questions during the setup. I chose all of Microsoft’s recommended selections. AntiSpyware first asks in you want to ‘keep your computer in the know’ with Auto Updater. Next you ‘meet your computers new bodyguards’ by activating 59 security checkpoints, and finally join the SpyNet community. By sharing your results with a database of all SpyNet users, everyone can stay on top of new and troublesome spyware. When all is said and done you are ready to run your first scan.
Microsoft’s AntiSpyware is setup with three main areas of protection; Scanning, Realtime Protection and Advanced Tools. Scanning is similar to other anti spyware apps, with the option for either Intelligent quick scans to find common malware or Full System Scans to dig deep into all files and folders to find everything in your computer. I chose the full scan and was finished with my 80GB hard drive in only 7 minutes. Quite a speedy scan considering Microsoft’s estimate was “less than 29 minutes.” On your results page, you have the found items, along with options for Ignore, Always Ignore and Remove. You can also look at handy information on the particular spyware and create a restore point for Windows.
I wanted to compare Microsoft’s scan results with two other popular apps that I use often; Ad-Aware Personal and Spybot: Search and Destroy. A full system scan by Ad-Aware found 9 critical objects, but they were merely tracking cookies, and not the two .exe files found by Microsoft. Spybot fared better, finding one of the Microsoft files, but it also found an .exe that Microsoft missed. So it seems that Microsoft has not yet created the standalone product for fighting spyware, but it is a worthy addition to any arsenal.
Moving on to the other options in Microsoft AntiSpyware, Realtime Protection acts as a system monitor and firewall to prevent unauthorized system changes. Microsoft employs 9 Internet Agents, to prevent such things as TCP/IP modification, 25 System Agents to prevent changes to Windows, and also 25 Application Agents to watch for changes to IE and other programs that can connect to the Internet.
Lastly, Advanced Tools contains three categories. System Explorers are similar to HijackThis, showing you running processes and Browser Helper Objects. I found this to be somewhat more complex then HijackThis, because BHOs, Settings, Toolbars, etc were all categorized separately, rather then in one long list. On the flip side however, AntiSpyware was more informative, explaining each individual item and letting you know if it was recognized as safe. Second, Browser Restore lets you return your browser back to its default settings if a rogue app had modified it. Finally, Tracks Eraser is a convenient, all-in-one way to delete your history from IE and apps like Adobe, ICQ and Real Player.
So in conclusion, Microsoft has taken a big step into the anti-spyware community and their offering is strong for program still in Beta. My comparison tests show that it should be used in conjunction with your other spyware fighters; because it finds things others do not. I look forward to the final release of this application, as it is shaping up to be a strong addition to my arsenal of anti-spyware applications. You can check it out here: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
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