Malwarebytes AdwCleaner vs Spybot – Search & Destroy

Malwarebytes AdwCleaner is a free Windows utility for detecting and removing adware, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers. It can also find unwanted software preinstalled on Windows computers. After scanning, you choose detections to quarantine and disable, then restart to finish cleanup; results also let you delete or restore items. The command-line interface can scan and list detections, scan and quarantine them, or uninstall AdwCleaner. Malwarebytes positions it for home users and technicians and distinguishes its focus from Malwarebytes Free, which also removes viruses, trojans, botnets and ransomware. Supported systems are Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows 8.1; Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 are unsupported. Minimum requirements list an 800 MHz SSE2 CPU, 512 MB RAM and 10 MB free disk space. With a firewall, outbound port 443 access is required to three listed Malwarebytes or AdwCleaner service addresses. Suspected false positives can be submitted from scan results for specialist review. The Free plan is free.

Spybot – Search & Destroy is Windows security software focused on finding and removing spyware, adware, tracking software, keyloggers and other unwanted software. Its Free Edition includes anti-spyware scanning and removal, a rootkit scan, System Immunization and Startup Tools, for private, non-commercial use; the private-use license does not cap device count. System Immunization blocks access to sites associated with malicious or unwanted software, tracking cookies and browser plugins identified as malware. The maker lists Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox and Chrome for that feature. Rootkit Scan checks the file system, registry and process-related lists. Paid editions list features including automatic signature downloads multiple times per day and task scheduling. Live Protection monitors newly created and running processes and blocks malicious processes before they start. Command-line tools cover scans, immunization, cleaning and updating, with use in scripts and scheduled tasks described by the maker. The product page also describes FileAlyzer for file analysis and RegAlyzer for browsing and changing the registry. Startup Tools can alter registry and other system settings, so the maker advises care.