CounterSpy 2.5

Here is the review of the antispyware that I am currently using. Its CounterSpy from Sunbelt Software. It has won a silver award at Top Ten Reviews site being second to only gold award winner Spy Sweeper. It is also far outclass Ad-Aware which I reviewed earlier


Well, it is simple to use. It is a good try for beginners who haven't use any antispyware product before. The default level already offers the best protection for most people. For those who simply likes to tweak, there is customization options available.

The software offers Active Protection which act as a shield that monitors suspicious activities in real time. There are 4 levels of protection to choose from i.e. Paranoid, Cautious, Trusting and Custom.

Select...	...to set...
Paranoid	Active Protection to the highest possible level where you will receive alerts for all known security risks.
Cautious	Active Protection to a moderate level where you will receive alerts for only serious and moderately serious known security risks.
Trusting	Active Protection to a low level where you will only receive alerts for the most serious security risks.

Well, I take the middle ground and choose Cautious.
With frequents updates, it boasts a high efficiency detection and removal rate.

Advantages of CounterSpy V2 ( from the company website )

• Heavy-duty antispyware protection treads lightly on system resources.
• Kernel-level Active Protection™ defends 24-7.
• Hybrid design combines antimalware technology with our award-winning spyware detection and removal.
• Deep-rooted malware is exterminated at boot time, before Windows loads.
• Incremental definition updates greatly reduce update downloading time.
• Over 750,000 Threat definitions!
• Vista compatible: Integrates seamlessly with the Vista Windows Security Center.

Its light on resources even on older systems. On my PC, it uses only 40Mb of memory. It doesn't much affect PC performance and start up time.
There are 3 scan options i.e. Full, Quick and Custom
On my 1st full scan it took 97 minutes which is quite long but all the while I was surfing the internet and having some small downloads. Maybe my pc is full of junk btw.

The System Tools contains 4 features

1. My PC Explorers-- monitors startup programs, running processes etc
   
2. My PC Checkup-- suggest changes to improve security after a small scan
   
3. History Cleaner-- for those who frequents porn sites hehe..
   
4. Secure File Eraser-- files that erase are unrecoverable, a better option than burning ur hard drive

There is a 15-day free trial available here.
To those who find that it is useful and wish to upgrade to full version can purchase it for USD 19.95 or personally contact me for the link to *ahem* version