Boston.com / Business / Personal Technology / Microsoft jumps into spyware fight

Boston.com / Business / Personal Technology / Microsoft jumps into spyware fight: "While the lawyers debate, our computers groan under the burden of illicit code. At least we can fall back on software that offers to make our machines spyware-free. The newest of these programs comes from Microsoft Corp., which is only fair. When's the last time you heard of an Apple Macintosh or Linux computer attacked by spyware? Because Microsoft Windows makes it so easy for unauthorized users to install software, it's the softest of targets. Having gotten us into this mess, Microsoft is now riding to the rescue with a free program called Microsoft AntiSpyware. The beta test version is available at www.microsoft.com/athome/security.
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Both programs agreed that the machine was infected with spyware. No matter how careful your Web-surfing habits, it's nearly impossible to avoid the stuff. That's why it pays to scan for spyware at least once a week, just as you should do with viruses. And since new spyware threats pop up almost daily, you've got to update your scanning software before each use.
Which program performed better? Microsoft's was not only faster -- 25 minutes for a full system scan, vs. 30 minutes for Ad-Aware -- it also identified threats that Ad-Aware never noticed."