The first beta of Microsoft’s long awaited anti-spyware tool is now available as a free download.
I downloaded it and had a quick play around. Here are my first impressions:
Pros:
- Very easy to use
- Simple, attractive interface
- Catered for both inexperienced and more competent users well, by explaining problems but also including specific details like infected files and registry keys
- Lots of features, moreso than Ad-Aware and on a par with Spybot Search & Destroy
- Fast
Cons
- Interface is a little more complicated than it could be
- False positives – I got three, one due to an incompatibility with SpywareBlaster, and the other two due to Shareaza which it thought to be parts of eDonkey and Grokster (which both bundle adware).
- …not much else, really.
Based on these first impressions, I’d say that I’m very impressed with this beta release. I’m not about to replace Ad-Aware and Spybot with this, rather it’ll become a third weapon in my anti-spyware arsenal. Microsoft have a good product here, in my opinion.
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January 6, 2005 at 20:05
I found it was quite a nag, it tries to be a 24 hour service, which i really don’t need, i mean, do you really need an anti-spyware app monitoring your system all the time? It’s not like they bring your system down. So i had to spend more time than necessary unchecking all the boxes just so i can run it now and then.
Typical microsoft problems really, it treats you as an idiot, like most of their software does. I swear, there should be an option on all microsoft’s software when you install them “are you intelligent or an idiot?” and the software will behave accordingly.
January 7, 2005 at 19:10
Believe me Microsoft knows that most of their soft users are idiots, so why bother for the others
January 12, 2005 at 09:12
I guess I’m going to come across as one of those idiots, but now that I have this thing on my system, how do I start it? I can’t find it anywhere in the menus or the Security Center.
January 17, 2005 at 08:25
Microsoft Anti Spyware: Torn Apart
You’ve all heard about Microsoft Anti Spyware Beta 1 by now. Scripting News gave it a minor mention, Neil’s World has a list of pros and cons, Asymptomatic just links it, and Peter Provost has some nice screenshots. Numerous others also cover it. …