Using Spybot S&D is pretty easy. The user interface is simple and straight forward, however there are a couple changes that I make prior to running it for the first time. On this page i'm going to show you how to make those changes and why I do them. They aren't mandatory, but they help. The above image is what you normally see when you run Spybot. If it's the first time you've ran Spybot after setting it up, you'll see a step by step walk through first before you see the main screen, but eventually you'll get to here.
You get this warning when you switch to Advanced User mode, click yes to continue.
Advanced mode gives you a lot of other options, but we're only interested in a few of them right now, notice that there's a Tools section here too, you might find some of the tools here helpful. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with that area.
The above image is how I set up Spybot. The three boxes that are colored in red, UNCHECK them. No sense in keeping backups of spyware or malware on your computer if that is what's causing your problem to begin with. Also notice the section Scan Priority, set the radial button to HIGHEST.
After you download all your updates, one of the things people tend to forget to do is immunize the system from certain threats. The above image shows what the immunize section looks like. Notice the Unprotected Column is showing 0 in every catagory. It might be passive protection, but it's better than nothing at all.
One of my friends that I have traded trade secrets with absolutely raves about the combined functionality of using Spybot S&D in conjunction with AVG. From what he told me through his research, AVG and Spybot have the same if not similar scanning patterns so they both scan the exact same files. I personally haven't put this to the test, but I do take him at his word as he has an immense amount of knowledge in this area as well.
One of my friends that I have traded trade secrets with absolutely raves about the combined functionality of using Spybot S&D in conjunction with AVG. From what he told me through his research, AVG and Spybot have the same if not similar scanning patterns so they both scan the exact same files. I personally haven't put this to the test, but I do take him at his word as he has an immense amount of knowledge in this area as well.