Checking for spyware or other malware

Your PC is probably infected with spyware or other malware when you experience any of the following:

• Your PC is running extremely slow
• A lot of ads keeps on popping up while you're surfing the web
• Your web browser homepage keeps changing

Even if you have installed an anti-virus or anti-spyware programs, your PC can still be infected by new strain of viruses, adwares or other malwares. To check if your PC is infected, you can use online virus and spyware scanners. These online facilities are being offered by security software vendors, free of charge, and can scan your computer for viruses and spyware and can detect malware threats from within your web browser.

One advantage of using an online scanner is that you can use it without having to uninstall your existing data security product or install a new one. More importantly, you can see what viruses your current antivirus software let slip through!


The following are some of the most popular online scanners available:

• BitDefender Online Scanner
• CA Threat Scanner
• ESET Online Scanner
• F-Secure Online Scanner
• Kaspersky Online Scanner
• Microsoft OneCare Safety Scanner
• Panda ActiveScan
• Reimage Free Scan
• TrendMicro HouseCall

All of the above online facilities install a small program (ActiveX control) that allows your web browser to scan your PC’s system memory, all files in its hard disks and drive’s boot sectors. Almost all requires Internet Explorer browser for its ability to install ActiveX control, most notably, BitDefender, CA Threat Scanner, and of course, Microsoft Safety Scanner.


For the others, there are special instructions for installing the scanner software for browsers, like Mozilla Firefox, that do not allow ActiveX controls to be installed.


In terms of ease of use, I like F-Secure and ESET—both are fast to install and run. Also, I was able to use their online facilities using Mozilla Firefox, my default web browser. For F-Secure, you need to install a Firefox add-on to install the scanner. For ESET, you need to download and run the installer package that you can uninstall later. Moreover, both F-Secure and ESET allows you to clean infected files without buying their full licensed products.


BitDefender also offers cleanup of infected files. You can also select specific file folders that you want to check and specify actions that you want it to do for infected files (i.e. report only, prompt you for action, disinfect, delete). These features may be useful for more advanced users.


The CA Threat Scanner and Panda ActiveScan only offers free scanning for probable security issues. But to clean or disinfect the files, you need to buy their full products


I experienced some difficulty installing the Microsoft, Kaspersky and TrendMicro scanners so I wasn’t able to test it. I’ll try it again some other time and see if I can post a new article on my experience.


My recommendation? Use either F-Secure, ESET, or BitDefender first for quick checking of possible infections. I haven’t tested yet how effective these three online facilities are in terms of threat detections. That would be a topic for later article.

To perform a complete check of your PC, you can use the Reimage Free Scan to wipe out, destroy and eliminate all threats and corrupted files infesting your computer.