Can I Finally Dump Spybot?

I've been a loyal user of Spybot for my monthly system scans for well over a decade (maybe longer, dating back to before 2009). I still keep it around for contextual scans (IE: when I wanna scan a specific folder). I recently downgraded from the latest versions, because I hate the new changes and integrations. I just reverted to 1.6.2, which I found here on the site. But other PC professionals have been harping on me to just get rid of it. That it's no longer needed with today's virus scans (I currently use both BitDefender and Windows Security on two different systems).

My question is, is that true? I found out about it through Major Geeks' own malware removal guides. So at one time, it was a go-to. And I feel like it still scans for lots of things that are important to keep cleared out.

So keep or dump?

 

"And I feel like it still scans for lots of things that are important to keep cleared out."

And just how many malware baddies has Spybot caught for you, counting back to 2009? I am no malware expert whatsoever - just a Win 10 Home laptop user who's careful about safe computing. In my case, my Windows Defender has caught exactly zero malware (the few PUP's it highlighted uselessly notwithstanding) since the days of Win 7. And all these years of near-monthly manual scans with Malwarebytes have also netted zero! So, for me...

1. I continue to use Win 10's built-in antimalware defender.
2. I dumped Malwarebytes - no more tedious manual full scans.
3. I keep OS, antimalware, and apps updated.
4. I sign on as 'standard' user (not admin)
5. I avoid clicking on email links - anything important (banks, etc.) I have already bookmarked, so pretty easy to access anyway.

Finally, one other effective layer of protection: I use separate browser 'profiles' for general browsing versus banking/emailing. For the latter, it's strictly whitelist affair: my browser allows only specific banking/email cookies, and my NoScript extension also allows only specific banking/email javascripts. So, even when I accidentally click on an email link, nothing exciting or serious happens.

 

I agree with you. Since the late 80s I've only had one experience with any type of malware and that was 15 years ago when I downloaded an app from Softonic. Since then I avoid dubious sites, heed any warning that appears when I'm surfing the 'net, scan anything I download, and never click on an email link unless I know exactly where that link leads.

 

good question !
same here, using both spywareblaster & spybot going back to xp,
now on win 7 after ms 'update' to 10 f7ucked up not one but 4x 2tb drives still unusable today, partitions et al ...
zone alarm firewall & av/sw
download scans with vt, malware bytes, spybot finds an occasional threat, and za
follow the same procedures as 'zebra' and 'skeezix' all good
stay safe

 

Sorry to learn that your Win10 system is boogered. I've been using Bitdefender for the last 3 years on my Win10 system. I don't use anything on my Windows Vista system.

(It's not connected to the internet though )