Our third step in assembling our free Internet Security Suite is installing an anti-spyware program. There are fewer free anti-spyware choices available, compared with free firewalls and free antivirus, but there are a few good choices, including my recommended pick, which comes to us from a company you might not have expected: Microsoft. Microsoft's Windows Defender has a lot going for it:
- Scheduled automatic scans;
- Real-time protection
- Automatic spyware definition updates;
- A software explorer for enabling/disabling programs; and
- 2 free "support incidents".
About that last point: support incidents can include any issues you have with installation, configuration, updates, detection, or removal of spyware. I found Windows Defender to be very easy to set up and use, but if you need some help, it's good to know that it's available. One thing to note: to download Windows Defender, you'll have to go through Microsoft's Genuine Advantage validation process. So, if you're not comfortable with that, you'll have to find another solution (Grisoft's Ad-Aware 2007 Free is a good choice, but without the real-time protection found in Windows Defender).
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