Back in December Microsoft bought a company called GIANT which made a well-known anti-spyware utility. Yesterday Microsoft released the rebranded utility in beta. I never tried the GIANT version, but I’m quite impressed with the Microsoft version. The interface is very nice. It is very easy to do, and it seems to do a great job. I ran it on 2 different computers (Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003) and it found several things on both computers, even though I was pretty confident I had none.
“Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) is a security technology that helps protect Windows users from spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Known spyware on your PC can be detected and removed. This helps reduce negative effects caused by spyware including slow PC performance, annoying pop-up ads, unwanted changes to Internet settings, and unauthorized use of your private information. Continuous protection improves Internet browsing safety by guarding over 50 ways spyware can enter your PC.”