We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.

Advertiser Disclosure

Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

How We Make Money

We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently from our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.

How do I Choose the Best Anti-Spyware Programs?

By G. Wiesen
Updated May 17, 2024
Our promise to you
WiseGEEK is dedicated to creating trustworthy, high-quality content that always prioritizes transparency, integrity, and inclusivity above all else. Our ensure that our content creation and review process includes rigorous fact-checking, evidence-based, and continual updates to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

Editorial Standards

At WiseGEEK, we are committed to creating content that you can trust. Our editorial process is designed to ensure that every piece of content we publish is accurate, reliable, and informative.

Our team of experienced writers and editors follows a strict set of guidelines to ensure the highest quality content. We conduct thorough research, fact-check all information, and rely on credible sources to back up our claims. Our content is reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy and clarity.

We believe in transparency and maintain editorial independence from our advertisers. Our team does not receive direct compensation from advertisers, allowing us to create unbiased content that prioritizes your interests.

As you are looking for the best anti-spyware programs, you should keep certain aspects of such programs in mind to ensure you find the best one for your needs. You should consider whether you want a program that can handle numerous types of malware, or if you want a more specialized type of software. It is also important to find anti-spyware programs that are updated regularly, to ensure that you are protected from the latest threats as well as programs that perform sufficient scans to find such threats.

Anti-spyware programs are software programs designed and developed to run on a computer and help protect that computer from spyware. Spyware is a type of malicious software that typically becomes installed on a computer and then tracks data about the user of a computer, often sending that data to a remote server. This can lead to annoying results, such as frequent pop-up advertisements while navigating the Internet, or more dire consequences including stolen passwords and identity theft. The use of excellent anti-spyware programs can be essential to avoiding these kinds of infections and the results that can follow.

As you look for the best anti-spyware programs for your needs, you should consider what type of program you need and what you may already have. Some programs will protect against multiple types of threats such as spyware, viruses, and adware. If you already have an anti-virus program, however, then you might only want to search for anti-spyware programs that specifically deal with spyware. These programs can be easy to find, and you can typically run such a program in addition to your anti-virus software.

You should also be sure that any anti-spyware programs you are considering are updated frequently and properly. New threats are being found all the time, which means that an anti-spyware program needs to be updated often to detect such threats. You should be sure that any program you decide to use is supported by its developer and will be updated regularly during use to give you the most comprehensive and up-to-date protection possible.

The best protection means that you should also consider anti-spyware programs that can scan your computer on a schedule and when you want to run a scan. Scheduled scanning can help protect your computer, even when you are not using it or have forgotten to scan your computer regularly. You should also ensure that any programs you are considering will scan all aspects of your computer; this includes the registry files if you are using an operating system (OS) that uses such a system, like a Windows® OS. Most programs will allow you to perform different types of scans, for this purpose, to adjust how thorough and lengthy you want the scan to be.

WiseGEEK is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Discussion Comments

WiseGEEK, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGEEK, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.