When asking Search Engines for best antispyware, surfers usually come across standardized reviews of about a dozen common antispyware programs from PC security software manufacturers with established reputation who control huge niches of the IT security market: Lavasoft (Ad-aware), Sunbelt (Counter Spy), McAfee, Webroot (SpySweeper), PC Tools, etc.

Don't get me wrong – I'm in no way trying to say that these software makers produce bad products - no, they're definitely good and well worth the money charged for them.

However, just about every company that managed to take its piece of pie in the security sotware nice, somehow starts losing the focus, then disregards the competition and rests on laures. But the time never stops, and online threats change every day, every hour, which long-livers of the IT security field fail to address quickly – or consider of too little importance to bother.

Want an example? Here you are.

Last year turned to be a nightmare for millions of PC users worldwide. Scam extortions, developed as decently looking Windows antivirus and antispyware programs, ruined the traditional approach to personal computer security. New rogue programs, distributed via social networks and blogs, as well as Trojan viruses, easily bypass common antivirus protection, even with real-time resident scanners. Tech forums and Yahoo! Answers are cluttered with requests for help. PC owners describe weird behavior of their computers (horror screensavers, disabled Task Manager, disappeared Start button and taskbar, ALT+CTRL+DEL not working, desktop properties not accessible, lagging and freezing) and a flood of scary ads that scream about spyware detected and immediate cure needed.

It's important to note that those spyware notifications look as they'd come from Windows Security Center, so there's no surprise people believe they are from Microsoft, and of course they trust the company's recommendations regarding the advised cure. Unfortunately, Microsoft has nothing to do with any software recommendations – as far as I know, the Windows creator never recommends any particular program to its customers. But people have deep trust for balloons produced by the notification area, and are eager to click "OK" button and download any antivirus or antispyware program allegedly recommended by Microsoft Corporation. 

The sad part of the story is that those ads already signify about system infection with viruses. And it's pity that many of infected computers had some or all elements of the common PC security protection elements: firewall, antivirus, and antispyware. Of course, partially the ineffectiveness of such protection scheme can be accounted for wrong configuration or lack of anti-malware definitions updates. But in reality the main reason why the infection bypasses the PC security shield is simple: popular antivirus programs.

You know them well: McAfee, AVG, Norton, Panda… the list goes on. Let's face the truth before it's too late: they are not good at preventing infections caused by rogue security software. Some of them never detect malicious modules at all, others are capable of catching the tip of the iceberg only, doing very little harm to malware. I know what I'm talking about because I've seen logs from computers infected with XP antivirus, Antivirus XP 2008, Antispyware Master and other scams. Those computers were guarded sometimes by half a dozen security programs at a time – such as Spyware Doctor, Spy Subtract, AOL Antispyware, McAfee, Lavasoft Ad-aware. These are all cool programs that help in preventing threats a lot, but they are next to being useless when it comes to addressing the new type of web threats: rogue security software, also known as scam extortion.

Is it any surprise that people feel frustrated that programs from reputable companies say their computers are clean, when in reality desktop background is corrupted, and launched applications self-close automatically?

Ironically, this weakness of traditional PC security software stimulated young and ambitious program makers to create new products capable of addressing the new web threats. And they already successfully take the market share, winning the competition, beating the orthodox approach to coding antivirus programs!

Among such highly successful projects I can name: SuperAntiSpyware, Malwarebyte's Anti-malware, and Emsisoft a-squared Anti-malware.

A very important characteristic of all the programs easily adds them solid value: each software is available in a totally free edition, available for home users, though fully-featured versions are commercial (and that's easily understandable).

SuperAntiSpyware, as the name suggests, is a super effective program at fighting spyware of different kinds. It scans and eliminates rootkits which other antispyware makers still don't consider important enough to pay attention to. At Yahoo! Answers, SuperAntiSpyware is one of the most recommended programs to deal with rogue security software, because it is really that effective. The name sounds a bit too self-boasting at first, but when put at good use, SuperAntiSpyware saves computers where complete reformat and Windows reinstall would otherwise be needed. The SuperAntiSpyware program features an enhanced scanning engine that allows the detection and removal of deeply hidden malware traces which are missed by other best antispyware products.

Malwarebyte's anti-malware is yet another highly efficient software meant to remove thousands of dialers, keyloggers, Trojans, and other types of malicious software. I've seen it done miracles to heavily infected computers which didn't allow normal log on, not speaking about any scans! That's why I personally advise this program to PC users facing the malware attack. In addition to the stand-alone program, Malwarebytes offers a free rogue security software remover tool which can help a lot when a fake antispyware pop-ups from notification are urging you to download the cure immediately.

A-squared anti-malware by Emsisoft is twice as good compared to standard antispyware programs; first, it uses unique detection algorithms to discover even the smartest malware (even those changing MD5 checksums to fool common security software that compares files against the database of signature definitions); second, Emsisoft offers a-squared command-line anti-malware scanner for FREE! It is a fully working program run from command prompt which advanced PC users and IT-experts are sure to love. Available with always updated definitions, a-squared command-line antivirus scanner provides a set of parameters for flexible operation. Three modes of scanning – quick, smart, and deep – allow a flexible choice for both novices and expert users. Additionally customizable scan options like memory, tracking cookies, archives, alternate NTFS data streams (ADS) deserve thumbs ups for ease of use. Ability to create a Unicode or ANSI log with scan results, quarantine detected malicious files (instead of immediate removal) and restore them if needed – this is an amazing set of features not that often to be found in commercial PC security software. However, A-squared free anti-malware offers just that. I consider this nice spyware removal tool to be a must have together with HiJackThis.

You may have never heard about these comparatively new PC security programs, yet they have established themselves as solid anti-spyware fighters capable of removing a wide variety of malware, featuring faster scanning time and more customization options than more familiar leaders of the PC antispyware market.

If you're building a new PC or just reinstalling Windows after major malware intrusion where security programs failed to even detect the pests, it's time you took a look at these fresh antispyware software products representing a new generation in IT security for PC users.

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