PestPatrol

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pestpatrol, acquired by Computer Associates (CA) on August 2004, has billed itself as the "Authority in Spyware Protection." They have licensed their signature files for use in Yahoo! Companion, Stompsoft's Spyware X-terminator, Research Triangle Software's CryptoStick Software Suite and others. The software is sold in combination with other utilities, such as a virus scanner and a firewall.

[edit] Criticism

As one of the first for-fee antispyware providers, it is frequently debated in Internet circles whether Pestpatrol lives up to its claim to be more authoritative than the free antispyware programs.

[edit] Extensibility

Pestpatrol has allowed the public access to an ActiveX browser-based online scanner called Pestscan, and its research database with manual removal instructions, much like the antivirus vendors do. Pestpatrol also reveals that its preferred testing mechanism involves testing each spyware infection (which has been allowed to fester for several days) against a clean disk image, and they encourage journalists and other software testers to test antispyware software --including their own-- in this manner.