What Is Spybot - Search and Destroy?

Windows Security Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples

∟Spybot - Spyware Blocker, Detection and Removal

∟What Is Spybot - Search and Destroy?

This section provides a quick introduction of Spybot - Search and Destroy - a spyware and adware detection and removal tool for Windows systems. Free edition offered on version 1.6.2.

What Is Spybot - Search & Destroy? Spybot - Search & Destroy (S&D) is a spyware and adware removal computer program for Windows systems. Spybot-S&D was written by the German software engineer Patrick Michael Kolla, and is distributed by Kolla's Irish company Safer-Networking Limited. Development began in 2000 when Kolla, still a student, wrote a small program to deal with the Aureate/Radiate and Conducent TimeSink programs, two of the earliest examples of adware.

Short product description by safer-networking.org: Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not cover yet. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too :)

The current version of Spybot - Search & Destroy is 2.2 released in June 2013. And it is rated as 3.5 out 5 (Very good) by CNET.com editors.

But back in 2012, pcmag.com (PC Magazine) rated 1.0 out of 5 for Spybot - Search & Destroy 2.0.

safer-networking.org does not offer free edition on Spybot - Search & Destroy 2.2 any more. The latest free edition is offered Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.6.2.