Anti-spyware and anti-virus programs are known to be essential for PC security protection. The level of surfers' literacy is growing, and nowadays even most ignorant PC users are aware of the importance of PC security software: anti-spyware and anti-virus programs.

Together, these two types of PC security software provide protection against the majority of Internet threats: viruses, trojans, worms, dialers, phishing, rootkits, etc. However it should be pointed out that anti-spyware and anti-virus programs are especially powerful when installed together, side by side, and accompanied by a firewall (a built-in software since Windows XP release). When used alone, none of the programs is able to provide a decent level of PC security.

The number of web threats is rapidly increasing, that's why advanced PC users and IT-pros often recommend to have 2 anti-spyware and 2 anti-virus programs installed. However, only 1 anti-spyware and 1 anti-virus program should have real-time protection modules enabled. The other two anti-spyware and anti-virus programs should be used for on-demand scan only (say, once a week) to provide a second layer of PC protection. As for anti-virus programs without real-time protection, ClamWin is an example of such. And several PC security software makers offer free anti-spyware programs with advanced scanning capabilities, yet without real-time protection modules. So, as an additional point of security, you may have freeware anti-spyware and anti-virus programs.

But of course the main protection comes from the feature called "real-time monitoring". It is a module that monitors the system memory from system start-up till shutdown. Constant monitoring of running processes and executed files allows anti-spyware and anti-virus programs pro-actively react when a suspicious activity is detected, and block it until the user decides whether the stopped process should be enabled or left blocked. This is a most effective preventive measure available in PC security software, and that's why it is to be found not in every anti-spyware and anti-virus program.

It is interesting that when it comes to best anti-virus programs, the leaders of the PC security software market enjoy the user's trust and loyalty. Over the years of existence they have been able to build security labs with highly professional teams of IT experts and programmers. So, ESET, avast!, AVG, Bit Defender, Kaspersky, McAfee, CA and some other manufacturers are on top of companies providing best anti-virus protection for home users and businesses alike.

But the situation with anti-spyware programs is quite different. The above mentioned makers of anti-virus software due to different reasons once underestimated the degree of danger contained in spyware threats, and didn’t dedicate enough efforts to work out effective anti-spyware modules. That's why it is believed that otherwise strong anti-virus programs are not nearly as effective in spyware detection and removal.

Hence the rise of young companies involved in the development of anti-spyware programs. The competition here is much more heated than in the market of anti-virus programs. Partially it can be accounted for the diverse nature of spyware which in many respects is more dangerous and widespread than conventional viruses. But despite the number of anti-spyware programs (sometimes combined with anti-virus protection as well), only few of them contain all the features necessary for best anti-spyware protection. Among such features is rootkit detection. Currently there's no anti-spyware programs incapable of detecting rootkits that deserves to be called as best anti-spyware.

For best protection possible it is recommended to have anti-spyware and anti-virus programs from different manufacturers.