Spyware is a sneaky malware program that steals information about your digital activities including passwords, credit cards numbers, and browsing habits. It could be disguised as legitimate software or operate in the background to spy on your activities and then report it back to cybercriminals who can use it to market your information, hack your account, steal your identity or money, or cause your PC to slow down or crash. Spyware infections can also show strange pop-ups or redirect your web browsing to websites that aren’t related, and may cause your email contacts to receive emails from spammers that appear to come from you.
A lot of the top free anti spyware Windows 10 software programs include features such as a firewall and heuristic detection to block unknown threats, plus an extensive community of users sharing virus definition updates. Some of them provide real-time security and are light on system resources. Some of the top ones include:
SUPERAntiSpyware is one of the most well-known, offering four different types of scans: Comprehensive Scan (complete) as well as Quick Scan (quick), Critical Point Scan (critical point) and Custom Scan. It is able to be set to ignore System Restore or Volume Information data, perform faster (called Scan Boost), and include an option to look only at specific folders. It also detects spyware based upon the content of files, rather than file extension. It is able to open and scan more than 20 archive formats (not only ZIP).
Another good choice is Malware Eraser, which focuses on detecting and removing only malware and not viruses or other threats. It has a simple interface, and it can run the full scan or check selected folders or drives. It also detects suspicious processes and eliminate them. It detects and removes rootkits, spyware, viruses trojans, worms, and rootkits.