Free Spyware Removal - Don't Believe the Hype!

Are spyware removal tools really effective? Do they keep your computer clean and protect you from the constant threat of spyware and adware all of us as Internet users face?

Unfortunately, and contrary to what most people believe - the answer is absolutely not.

Industry experts estimate that over 90% of all Internet users will get infected with spyware while online. Given that fact, it is becoming extremely important that we properly protect ourselves and unfortunately, the reality about free spyware removal tools is that they are not nearly as effective as software that might cost you a mere $30 to download.

Most Internet users unfortunately do not understand the difference between free spyware removal tools and the tools that are not free because if they did, they wouldn't think twice about getting their hands on paid software versus thinking they get enough protection from the freebies. The reason I say this is because there is a very large difference between the scanning methods that free and paid spyware removal tools use.

Free spyware remover tools depend on observing the history of your computer's operating system and registry to find spyware infections. In other words, it scans common locations where spyware installs itself and then examines the files and entries to conclude if any changes have taken place and then analyzes those findings to determine if an infection is present.

The issue with this type of detection is twofold. First, the software often reports false positives - which means that it can report authentic files and registry entries as spyware and in some cases if these files are removed this can cause even more damage to your computer and can even make it unusable.

The second problem is that free spyware removal tools neglect to detect a fairly large number of spyware infections, including much of the newest spyware that has been written primarily because of the ever changing nature of programming and hackers exploiting more and more security glitches in software and applications. This results in many of the most dangerous spyware ignored and left running on your computer. With paid spyware removal tools, you rarely see this at all because the method in which they detect and remove spyware is very different.

Most paid spyware removers are more effective than the free tools because they depend on a database of known spyware programs when scanning your computer. In other words, instead of simply looking for changes in files, the software will compare each file scanned against a database to determine if it is a legitimate file or if it is spyware. This is important because it minimizes the amount of false positives but even more importantly, it significantly increases the accuracy of spyware detected and removed which means a greater level of protection for users.

Another important factor to consider is that paid spyware removal tools reinvest much of the money they take in from sales back into research and development of their spyware database and many of the top vendors update their databases at least a couple of times per week and allow you to download those updates for free so you are always current in being protected from even the newest of spyware programs.

So the next time you have a spyware infection, and you undoubtedly will, you'll want to think about whether it is worth the $30 price tag to get a proven and effective spyware removal tool or just use the free tools. If you choose the second option, be prepared to fight an infinite spyware battle where you'll always be fighting pop-ups, always suffering from a slow computer, and constantly putting yourself at a higher risk for identity theft.