Best Spyware Removal Program(s)?

See thread title.

Spybot. Windows 7 legit copys have a thing from microsoft too that's pretty good.

Any Linux or WinPE-based Live CD. You can delete spyware with just the "Delete" key, and they can't protect themselves for shit ;-) Also any antispyware and antivirus you run while within the LiveCD is actually able to remove the viruses, since any "cleaner" that operates with the spyware active in memory...is doomed to fail.

Spybot, Malwarebytes and Ad-Aware Free

I use SUPERAntiSpyware and it's kept my PC clean. It's also damn good at removing crap. I had an instance where I had caught a trojan/spyware/malware and, along with ESET Smart Security 4, was able to stomp that crap out.

Gee, it's not like this is in the FAQ or anything

Where do you think the answers where coming from?

What about the Microsoft security essentials tool?

Combofix and Malwarebytes. That's all you need.

The built in Windows Defender works just fine for me.

Spybot is only as good as your computer's ability to run the RAM-eating Tea Timer, also it seems to "protect" against less and less problems every time you update it. I only use it when i get infected, not all the time.

I use Norton Antivirus.

Nomad said:

The built in Windows Defender works just fine for me.

Yeah, until it reports the execute file for Half-Life 2 as a "malicious program."

Have you tried using Avira? I use that. Keeps my P.C clean and happy.

The thing is that almost all of the mentioned programs work OK if used as spyware prevention, not actual removal.

Any decently-written spyware (that can't be defeated just by editing msconfig or deleting its files in plain view) will resist being removed once it's up-and-running and memory-resident, by using a combination of autorun.inf hacks, rootkit techniques, multiple "watchdog" processes etc.

If you got something that bad, then only file deletion/registry edits outside of the OS itself can actually remove the spyware (and not just pretend that it did so). A live boot CD and some common sense come in handy in those cases.

Get over it, there is no wonderful and total, easy-to-use spyware removal tool, just as there aren't magical "find any driver easily!" wizards that actually work (most are just fakes/spyware), nor magical "driverless" windows installation disks that can work on anything from your grandfather's Pentium I to the latest i7 laptop.

Bloodshedder said:

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, SUPER Anti-Spyware, Microsoft Security Essentials. And as said (only for removal of course) a combination of them. (Adaware and Spybot aren't on the same level als the last three options but are perhaps more known)
If they fail use Maes solution.
For analysis and if you have the time you can use hijackthis, gmer (for rootkits).
If you have lots of time or you write spyware then enable boot logging in procmon (also from microsoft )

I don't use spyware removal tools and virus scanners but I did remove quite alot of spyware on other pc's and I have a small and old virus collection (11 years old now) which has been updated by usb.

Coldfusio said:

I don't use spyware removal tools and virus scanners but I did remove quite alot of spyware on other pc's and I have a small and old virus collection (11 years old now) which has been updated by usb.

I'm sure that a CD or better yet, an USB stick with your collection would classify as a WMD in certain jurisdictions ;-)

Advanced Systemcare Pro. It does the whole spyware scan thing pretty well, but also cleans up registry, defragments and has a mode where it turns off processes that aren't being used to preserve RAM and CPU usage.