Customer Reviews
Great product - better then Kaspersky 
2007-02-10
For $10 per license after you install you can upgrade this to AntiSpyware plus Anti-virus. I have had many spyware and very serious viruses which Kaspersky either didn't detect or didn't remove permanently that Spy Sweeper did. Even using Kasperky from an outside scan of the hard drive with another computer. There is nothing on the market better at removing stubborn pests.
The problems with Spy Sweeper are the only downside to the product. They are:
1) Over protective anti-piracy policies- I installed 2 of my 3 users licenses fine. On my 3rd user install it wouldn't take my key and said my license expired. I opened a support ticket and a day later I get a canned reply that totally disregarded all of the information I supplied in the ticket including my license key with issues. I had to call on the phone and wait about 45 minutes to get them to issue me a new key. Which probably means someone was using a key generator and got my key, But that is not my problem. I pay so I don't have to have problems. I mean really do they think that people who pirate software are actually buying their product when they can't us it? No they just go to the next product that will be pirated. Not to mention most people that pirate do it cause they don't have the money for the product in the first place. Usually broke teenagers and early 20 somethings.
Once on the phone the support guy said the system tracks how many times you install. Truthfully this was only my 3rd install and there is no possibility anyone got the key from me.
2) Lots of options that could screw your computer up. Don't turn on the Key log Shield or it will freeze up Yahoo messenger and other programs. Don't add any more shields then the default or you WILL have problems.
3) My wife's cousin had the AT&T DSL browser and it would delete the executable every time she installed. I couldn't find a way to stop Spy Sweeper from doing that either (no exception areas to say don't touch this file or application).
4) Doesn't work well with Kaspersky - You have to setup Kaspersy exception rules for Spysweeper.exe and SpysweeperUI files otherwise Spy sweeper will never update. Even then still had problems so I decided to go with their anti-virus. I wouldn't install Spy Sweeper on my computer because of that fact.
Best software of the year and technical excellence! 
2006-04-24
Since a long time ago, I have had a hard time fighting spyware and adware, I was tired. I used many firewalls, antivirus, and adware like similar software, but I always had some problem. I read about this product in PC Magazine, and gave it a try. Surprisingly, all my problems are gone since I installed this product , and my computer is much faster now without the bad guys or malwares in the computer. This is really a SUPER product and best value for the money you spend.
Another good decision ! 2006-02-19
Another easy transaction! Good product for the$$.Only time will tell how effective...Heathen hackers anyway !!
scumware that makes bogus identifications to sell itself 
2008-04-26
It hijacked my browswer and took me to a promotional website when I tried to uninstall it -- if it behaves like scumware, it is scumware in my book.
As near as I can tell, it does nothing but make users believe that it is busy catching "problems" that other applications don't. THAT is why it is getting positive reviews -- people are being snookered into believing that it is "better spyware" when it appears to do nothing but create false reports on a clean system.
I had turned off my firewall and forgot to turn it back on -- and ended up with one of those search engine hijackers that keeps morphing to make removal difficult. I found advice on some spyware forums where people will guide you step-by-step through manual removal procedures. Being lazy, I was looking for a quicker fix and followed the advice of those who had no technical advice beyond "go here to download SpySweeper."
This annoying application continued to make bogus identifications after I had successfully fixed the problem manually -- it kept identifying non-specific "generic" maybe-potentially-couldbe intrusions. (It also didn't correctly identify the cause of the problem in the first place.) That alone is annoying, but even more annoying is that after making these "generic" identifications, it said that I would need to make a purchase to remove them. When I finally got disgusted enough to uninstall it, it opened my browser and took me to its website to prompt me to purchase it! It behaves exactly like the search engine hijacker that I had removed about two weeks ago!
Others say it sucks -- I have less polite things to say about it.
SSleeper with free adware 2008-02-26
I purchased SpySleeper to fix a recent infection in my computer. Although it detected and cleaned 2 trojans: trojan-fisher-bzub and trojan-downloader-zlob, SSleeper missed the trojan-spyware.webhancer. I had to use PC Doctor to detect and clean it.
Now I am having to work with Webroot online tech support to clean a final infection that it missed, and it has taken 7 days of trivial pursuit and poorly written quick fixes to get them to look at a scan and (hopefully) come up with a fix.
Phone tech support hold times are about 20 minutes as they are having to deal with significant Windows Vista compatibility problems with their product.
Although this product has had a good reputation, it is now asleep at the wheel in many ways. If you are trying to fix an infection you would be better off doing a Windows reinstall than spending time and money on SSleeper. Read the PC World recent review on antispyware to confirm what I have posted (poor infection removal, last place in overall ranking.)
2/25/08 update: It took 3 weeks to remove all spyware with ssleeper thru tech support. I have removed ssleeper from my active startup programs and use it only to run occasional scans after updating it. I do not plan to do anything with my computer during ssleeper scans because it slows to nearly lockup speed when a scan is running. Also, after definition updates, ssleeper automatically opens a new browser window that advertises the webroot antivirus product (kind of like what adware does!)
Pitty the poor people who do not read the more current reviews of this product before buying (amazon, your default should be to display most current reviews first.)
Most Effective, But offsets DSL Benefits 2008-01-21
SpySweeper has kept my 5 home networked PCs free of Spyware for the last four years. Nonetheless, every year, I have tried a competitor when my subscription to Spysweeper has expired. Why do I try to replace perfectly effective spyware? Because it is PAINFULLY slow in pulling up websites, more than offsetting the small fortune I pay for fast DSL access. Why do I return to Spysweeper? Because the competitors are not yet effective in keeping the Spyware out to the same degree that Spysweeper does. As soon as I find a competitor that is as effective as Spysweeper and less piggish, I am gone. Until then, Spysweeper remains (alas) best in breed (although Trend for Vista is ALMOST giving it a good run).
Context: my machines are blazing, all with dual core, 4 GB of RAM, and hard wired with T2 access.
Hint: sometimes when I am really frustrated, I will disable Spysweeper for a few hours to cruise the internet and then reactivate Spysweeper to clean up the mess I have collected.
It is with great disappointment that I therefore recommend Spysweeper.
Spy Sweeper sucks! 2007-08-30
i got this Spy sweeper because i had Vertumonde and TrojDloadr-BCZ in my computer. Spy Sweeper ran the application, detected the harmful software AND REFUSED TO REMOVE IT! No matter how many times i sweeped with this latest version, It would not remove any of my trojans/viruses. I contacted their tech support with a ticket. they got back to me telling me to update the verison. I was uspset at that solution since i told them i am already running the latest version and i double checked on that and Spy Sweeper is still not working! I so far have not gotten any answer back and i suspect i never will.
Their firewall as well does nothing at all. I went on Paltalk into the Finance section chat room, and was immediately fludded with more viruses, cookies and spyware! So much for the firewall Spy Sweeper! I am now switching to ZoneAlarm. i tried the free version and the firewall seems to hold up really well.
in short i would give this software a zero in stars if i could!
It really works!! 2007-07-29
After wondering why my computer was running turtle slow lately (and don't get me started on the frequent crashes), a friend told me to try this product. It costs about $29.99, so I decided what the heck I'll try it.
Well, I'm glad I did because I found out that my computer had 300 different types of spyware that was downloaded on my computer after an Ebay purchase from a dishonest seller.
After this spy sweeper was ran, the virusis, spyware and everything else was removed my computer was back to normal.
This is a great product!! I highly recommend it to everyone who has had computer problems.
~~Kat
