Some spyware scanners require we provide personal details in order to use the scanner. So in the end, who knows more about us - the adware and spyware purveyors or the spyware scanning vendors?
Panda SpyXposer is a free online scanner that purports to detect spyware, dialers, hacking tools, and other security risks. It doesn't actually remove it, but it does provide a handy log file you can save and use to ferret out the unwelcome additions to your system. I ran Panda SpyXposer on a system I use for casual Internet surfing. SpyXposer ferreted out 31 instances of 'spyware'. All were cookies. Since I view cookies as mostly benign and often quite useful (customizing the content I see on my favorite websites, for example), I wasn't thrilled to see cookies labeled as spyware. But Panda isn't alone in this regard.
Webroot, developers of the very capable Spy Sweeper, make big marketing pitches about the number of spyware infected PCs. But when you dig through their numbers, it boils down to the same thing - cookies. And a bigger question is, in order to use SpyXposer, I had to provide my country, state, and email address. So in the end, who knows more about me? The cookies that know someone at my IP address prefers technology news over sports, or Panda that knows my email, state, and country?
Panda isn't alone in this regard either. Ironically, many of the anti-spyware scanners require relinquishing personal information in order to use their scanners (even their paid versions). Ad-Aware, Norton, Spybot, and Spy Sweeper are among the few scanners that don't require this. Spyware Doctor doesn't request an email address, but it constantly tries to access the Internet – a promiscuous habit that PC Tools describes as part of their licensing validation and which persists even after the registration process has been completed. In fact, during one 5 minute period after I had denied it access, Spyware Doctor tried 53 times to phone home.
Trend AntiSpyware requires an email address – and pledges to send an unsolicited welcome email without giving the option to opt out. It also requires providing information related to the type of Internet service being used. The McAfee registration process entails providing both your full name and your email address, as well as providing a password to access the account they automatically establish online - whether you want them to or not. ZoneAlarm asks for – but does not require – information pertaining to the type of Internet account used and what type of user you are (i.e. Home user, Work, etc.). Like Trend and Panda's SpyXposer, ZoneAlarm also requires an email address.
