SpyHunter is a proprietary antispyware software application designed to detect and eradicate spyware and other malware on your PC. The software’s manufacturer employed spam advertising a few a years back and, unfortunately, the application garnered a reputation as fake or rogue spyware. Rest assured, though, that despite its failed marketing strategy in the past, the software is legitimate and works sufficiently to remove spyware from computers.
SpyHunter has the ability to hunt down malicious spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, worms and other rogue threats. The software does a good job of detecting most malware, though it could use some improvement at identifying stealth malware. This type of malware actively works to hide its presence on your system, and some second-tier antispyware applications have trouble detecting it. We’d like to see SpyHunter’s removal effectiveness improve as well. The software didn’t fully remove all of the threats it detected on our test computer.
One of our biggest complaints with SpyHunter is that the antispyware tool updates infrequently. The top antispyware and security software suites are updated constantly to provide real-time protection from the most current and emergent threats.
SpyHunter also requires many system resources to run – nearly 40MB when idle and 200MB when scanning. Fortunately, the software scans quickly. While you may experience noticeable system slowdown during a scan, it won’t last long.
Despite its mediocre performance, SpyHunter is equipped with a decent feature set. A gaming mode allows you to optimize your computer's system resources when you're playing media. There are also reporting options that allow you to learn more about any of the malicious files the software detects.
If you need assistance while installing or using this anti-spyware software, SpyHunter is supplemented with helpful support options. Online documentation is provided, as is a searchable knowledgebase. You can also contact the company directly via email or live chat; however, telephone support is not offered.
When you first install SpyHunter, the antispyware software seems promising. Once you start to delve into it, however, it’s clear that the application needs work. We appreciate its useful feature set, but SpyHunter needs improved malware protection and removal effectiveness to compete with our top-ranked antispyware software.
