Internet is still far from a secure place, and viruses are still an annoying menace which we must fight on an everyday basis. Here’s our list of 90+ tools for removing virus, spyware, adware and other infections which affect system performance. The list is classified according to their functions(Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware), availability (online/offline), and platform (Cross-Platform/Windows/Mac).
Anti-Spyware
Ad-Aware – A very commonly used anti-spyware application providing advanced protection from spyware related problems. The free version sports all the major features.
AntiSpyware 2007 – AntiSpyware 2007 for Windows provides users a safe experience by protecting computer against spyware threats. The free version enables the users to scan the computer for infections.
ArcaClean – A free tool for removing all copies of internet worms (Blaster Beagle, NetSky, Sober and others).
Bazookaâ„¢ Adware and Spyware Scanner – Bazooka detects infections which are typically not recognized by Anti-Virus software. Examples of these are spyware, adware, trojan, keylogger, foistware and trackware components. Bazooka can remove CoolWebSearch, Gator, GAIN, Bargain Buddy, CommonName, FlashTrack, IPInsight, nCase, SaveNow, and WurldMedia.
CWShredder – CWShredder eliminates CoolWebSearch which is a type of browser hijacker. It is a small utility with very focused functionality towards eliminating this browser hijacker in instant time.
Dr. Web CureIt – Dr. Web is one of the most popular free anti-virus scanners for Windows. It removes all kinds of infections like spyware, malware and W32 viruses.
NoAdware – A real time protection solution for spyware and adware removal. Its special features include advanced level of protection for the IE browser.
Outpost Security Suite Pro – A fast and effective anti-malware, and personalized anti-spam solution. It keeps the computer updated against latest OSS that will keep user’s computer protected against all major Internet security threats.
Panicware’s Pop-Up Stopper and Blocker – A free popup blocker and spyware removal tool for both Windows and Mac OS X.
PestPatrol – PestPatrol is a powerful security and personal privacy tool that detects and eliminates destructive pests like trojans, spyware, adware and hacker tools.
Prevx CSI – Prevx is a very powerful scanner for home and business users. Its quick scanner will check your computer for infections in less than 2 minutes.
Spybot Search & Destroy – Spybot is a popular and free for personal use anti-spyware program. It is extremely effective for preventing adware and spyware from entering your system. The new version of Spybot also features support for Windows Vista, more compatibility with Wine and support for bootable Windows CDs.
SpySubtract PRO – SpySubtract PRO has recently changed its name to Trend Micro Anti-spyware and the latest version includes an enhanced spyware scanning engine. The trialware of Trend Micro Anti-Spyware is available for 30 days.
Spyware Begone Registered Edition – A desktop based free spyware scanner for removing adware, checking browser infections, preventing ID thefts and speeding up the computer.
Spyware Doctor – Spyware Doctor is recognized as the best spyware and adware protection solution with a very high degree of efficiency. It detects, removes and protects your PC from thousands of potential spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, spybots and tracking threats.
Spyware Guard – A tiny protection solution against browser-hijackers and malware. It has a quick real-time scanning engine, and most importantly – it’s free.
Spyware Nuker XT – Spyware Nuker is an anti-spyware software produced by Trek Blue. Its special feature called Active Protection tracks the execution of all programs at kernel-level and alerts if a program is suspected as a potential threat.
Spyware Terminator – A highly popular spyware removal tool offering thorough scanning of memory, registry, and drives. What separates Spyware Terminator apart from others is that it is a freeware utility (for both personal and commercial use) and it also has an option of antivirus integration with an open-source antivirus program ClamAV.
Spy Hunter – Spy Hunter is an extremely fast and efficient scanner for detecting spyware/adware in Windows machines. The scanner is available as a freeware.
Spy Sweeper – Spy Sweeper is a popular award winning software offering protection against dangerous spyware which infect system during internet browsing. It is available at a price of $29.95 for one year subscription.
StartPage Guard – A handy freeware protection mechanism for protecting the internet browser’s pages from unauthorized activities.
Sunbelt CounterSpy – Sunbelt CounterSpy is a top quality anti-spyware protection program. It includes a 15-days full version powerful trial which removes all types of Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) in its tests.
SUPERAntiSpyware – An extremely thorough application with the ability of removing spyware which is generally not detected by other scanners. The basic version is free for home users and the professional version comes at price of $29.95.
The Cleaner – The Cleaner is a collection of programs designed for safety from trojans, worms, rootkits, keyloggers, spyware, adware and types of malware. It is available as a freeware for personal use and the paid version costs $19.95.
Trojan Hunter – TrojanHunter acts as a complement for Anti-Virus software by searching and removing trojans residing inside the system. The 30-day trial version is available for free and the one year version can be purchased for $39.95.
Webwasher – Webwasher Classic clears unwanted ads, crushes cookies and prevents organizations from profiling surfing habits. The users of Webwasher can eliminate banner ads and new larger “skyscrapers†it takes to view Web pages.
WinCleaner – A freeware solution for protection of Windows computers. It provides protection against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware.
Windows Defender – A free program from Microsoft that enhances system performance by providing protection against unwanted software. The real-time protection provides recommendation action every time it detects spyware.
W32.Blaster.Worm Removal – W32 Blaster Worm removal from Symantec clears all infections of the Blaster worms which exploit the DCOM RPC vulnerability.
XoftSpySe – XoftSpySe by ParetoLogic is a good anti-spyware application that can remove about 43,000 deadly spyware and adware infections.
Cross-Platform
Norton AntiVirus – Symantec manufactures the world’s most popular and trusted antivirus program for Windows and Mac OS X.
RAV Antivirus – A powerful mail server providing antivirus and antispam protection to system administrators. The package is available for multiple operating systems including Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE Linux and other operating systems.
Sophos – Sophos security control provides cross-platform virus detection on Mac, Windows, Linux, UNIX, Net App Storage Systems and Mobile.
Virex – Virex protects Mac OS X systems against all types of viruses, malicious code and unknown threats.
VirusBarrier – A cross-platform antivirus solutions from Intego. A fully functional 30 day trialware is available and the single user licensed version is available at a cost of $79.95.
Desktop
Anti-Virus&Trojan – Anti-Virus & Trojan provides protection against all viruses. It scans for infected files and shows a warning message if it finds any.
avast! Home Edition – A free antivirus solution for scanning disk, CDs, in E-mail, HTTP, NNTP, IM and P2P.
AVG Free Edition – AVG Resident Shield provides real-time protection executions of files and programs. It features a smart e-mail scanner, virus updates and virus vault for secure handling of the files which are infected by viruses. The base version for windows is Free for private and non-commercial use.
CA AntiVirus – An antivirus program from Computer Associates for comprehensive security against worms, trojan horse programs and viruses. The basic version is available for a 90-day trial.
ClamWin – ClamWin is a free antivirus project for Windows.
CyberScrub AntiVirus – A powerful virus cleaner with a trialware version, while the paid version costs $49.95.
ESET NOD32 Antivirus – ESET NOD32 Anti-virus is available as an anti-virus for small businesses, individuals and for large networks. The trialware enables the user to try the application for a period of 30 days.
Fprot – A free ant-virus application for Linux, FreeBSD and DOS (personal use). It also provides a Windows Evaluation version.
HandyBits – A free for personal use virus ‘scanner integrator’ with features like auto-search which scans for already installed virus scanner. It scans for files using installed virus scanners there by utilizing the strengths of installed programs.
HijackThis Software – HijackThis is a small application for scanning and cleaning spyware, malware infections in computer. It enables the user to save the scan log in a txt file which can be examined later for system security analysis.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal Pro – A commonly used virus protection solution offering full protection against macro-viruses and unknown viruses. It offers reliable data integrity control and protection of e-mails from viruses.
MWAV – A free utility for scanning anti-virus, spyware, adware or other types of malware. The specialty of this utility is that it does not require installation and can be run directly.
Nanoscan – An instant scanner that can detect viruses, spyware and other threats in less than a minute.
noHTML – A service allowing users to access emails from Outlook Express in a secure way by converting them into simple text format and removing the dange of email borne attacks.
Norton AntiVirus – Norton AntiVirus is the most popular and secure virus scanner for checking boot sector records at startup. The live update feature automatically installs new updates for regular protection against viruses.
Panda Antivirus Platinum – A complete virus protection package for home and business users. It comes with an easy installation and automatic protection from latest viruses.
PC Tools AntiVirus – PC Tools AntiVirus is a handy free anti-virus program for Windows.
Protector Plus Antivirus Software – A perfect anti-virus solution for Windows systems against all types of viruses, spyware, trojans and worms.
PROTEA ANTI-VIRUS – Protea Antivirus works with Lotus Domino. It automatically cleans the body of the message, checks attachments and also the OLE mail objects. It is available in both trial and paid version.
Solo Anti-Virus – Solo Anti-Virus gives protection from new viruses on the internet and also scans the system for removing worms in the system. The unique unique System Integrity Checker provides protection to the user new Internet Worms, Backdoor programs, malicious VB and Java scripts.
Sophos – Sophos is a Windows anti-virus solution for removing viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other potentially dangerous applications.
Stinger – A stand-alone application for automatic detection and removal of viruses. It acts as more of an assistance for administrators and is not meant to be a full time anti-virus replacement. It is available as freeware for Windows.
StopSign – StopSign Threat Scanner is an effective protection solution against all types of internet threats viruses, spyware, trojans, adware, keyloggers, worms, browser hijackers and all forms of malicious code.
SurfinGuard – SurfinGuard constantly monitors programs with .exe file extension for malicious threats. It automatically blocks any Trojan or worm that violates the security norms.
Symantec Virus Removal Tools – Symantec offers suit of free virus removal tools for infections like: W32.Netsky.B@mm, W32.Beagle@mm, W32.Welchia.Worm, W32.HLLW.Anig, W32.Mydoom@mm and more.
Tenebria SpyCatcher Express – A powerful protection solution from unknown spyware. It provides powerful, immediate protection from known & unknown spyware as well as rootkits. SpyCatcher is available as a freeware for Windows.
ThreatFire – A feature rich anti-virus software for real time protections against viruses, worms and other types of malware. It is available as a freeware for Windows.
TotL.net – An anti-virus solution of a different kind. It is an effective human detector enabling users to scan themselves and their friends.
Trend ServerProtect – Trend Server features a windows console for management of viruses, updates, remote installation and removal. It supports Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows NT 4, and Novell NetWare servers.
Vexira – Vexira provides full protection solutions to organizations, websites, schools and government agencies from the attack of viruses, trojans, spyware, adware and spam.
Mac Anti-Virus
Agax – A free Mac antivirus program for Mac with features for standard and advanced scanning.
ClamXAV – A free virus scanner for Mac OS X. It uses the open source antivirus engine ClamAV for scanning.
Online Anti-Virus
a-squared Web Malware Scanner – a-squared enables users to scan for Trojans, Backdoors, Worms, Dialers, Spyware/Adware, Keyloggers, Rootkits, Hacking Tools, Riskware and TrackingCookies.
Authentium VERO – An online security solution built especially for site operators, financial institutions like banks and other service providers. In a nutshell, it provides a secure, private environment for trading, banking transactions and other activities being carried across the internet.
Avast! Online Scanner – An online virus scanner from alwil software for scanning files smaller than 512KB.
BitDefender Online Scan System – BitDefender Scan Online scans system’s memory, boot sector, all files and folders and also comes with automatic file cleaning option. Overall, it scans for over 70,000+ viruses, worms, trojans and other malicious applications.
CA Anti-Virus – A comprehensive virus scan utility for protection against all types of viruses, trojans, worms and malicious threats.
Dr. Web – Dr. Web is an online scanner for curing system viruses. Users can select viruses from system and can scan selected files.
ESET Online Scanner – ESET is a powerful user-friendly scanner for removing malware from user’s computer.
FortiGuard Center – FortisGuard online scanner allows users to check for malicious files by simply scanning the uploading files. The files have a size limit of 1MB.
Free online Trojan Scanner – An online scanner for detection and removal of Trojan horses.
Freedom Online Virus Check – Freedom Online Virus Check is an anti-virus scanner for scanning hard drives, diskettes, CD-ROMs, network drives, directories, and specific files for any hidden viruses.
F-Secure – An online virus scanner for detecting and clearing viruses.It supports Windows XP and Windows 2000.
Kaspersky Online Scanner – A fast and effective online scanner for checking individual files, folders, drives or even files related to emails.
Mcafee Virusscan Online – A trusted VirusScan service for search and display of infected files. Once the infected files are displayed McAfee scan provides detailed information about the virus, its type and removal instructions.
Panda ActiveScan – Panda ActiveScan is a powerful online virus scanner and provides detection of over 1, 85,000 viruses, worms and Trojans on user computers.
Pc-Cillin Trend Micro Housecall – Trend Micro is one of the very few online scanners to offer cleaning of infected files. Users can scan the whole system or choose from specific drives and folders.
Symantec Security Check – An effective online scanner for testing various types of viruses and threats on user computers.
Tenebril Spyware Scanner – The free Spyware Scanner from Tenebril enables users to search for thousands of viruses, worms and trojans. For removing the infections users need to obtain the paid version which is available at a cost $29.95.
VirusChief – VirusChief is a free online virus scanner for detection of viruses throuhg multiple antivirus engines.
Virus.Org – Virus.Org is a malware scanning service that scans and upload files with several common anti-Virus tools to detect system infections.
Virustotal – An online scanner for files with size less than 5MB, it only detects threats, but doesn’t clean the infiltrations.
X-Cleaner Micro Edition – An online scanner from FaceTime Security Labs for different types of adware, keyloggers, Trojans and many other forms of unwanted software.The offline version includes a trial version of X-Cleaner and a deluxe version with a wide range of cleaning solutions.
Registry Cleaner
Abexo Registry Cleaner – A Windows registry defragmenter tool that can drastically improve the performance of your computer.
CCleaner – CCleaner is a free tool for system optimization and security. It clears system infections, cleans registry, removes unused startup items and allows windows to run faster by freeing hard disk space.
Clean My Registry – A freeware utility developed for keeping the system registry in perfect condiction.
Eusing Free Registry Cleaner – Eusing is free registry cleaner software that allows users to clean registry infections instantaneously with a few mouse clicks.
MISPBO Registry Cleaner – MISPBO Registry Cleaner is an advanced level registry cleaner for removing unnecessary keys from the Windows registry.
RegAuditor – RegAuditor gives a quick snapshot at the adware, malware and spyware installed on user’s system by showing colored icons. Icons in red indicate infections in computer and green icon means that a specific object is safe.
Registry Mechanic – Registry Mechanic can clean the registry, fix PC errors and optimize the computer for better performance. The trial version fixes bugs in specific sections of the registry and its usage is limited by time.
Registry Trash Keys Finder – Registry Trash Keys Finder removes unwanted data quickly by clearing out dead registry entries which are left by trial software. (via)