Product Features

Spyware Doctor's main features include the following:

• Detects and removes malware infections including spyware, adware, browser hijackers, Trojans, keyloggers, dialers and tracking cookies.
  
  Spyware Doctor utilizes a sophisticated database of malware infections to detect and remove malware from your computer. The database currently incorporates over 40,000 signatures. Multiple databases are released each week, assisting you to keep your system free of new infections.

• Frequent Smart Updates to detect and guard against new infections as well as adding enhancements to Spyware Doctor.
  
  Run the Smart Update tool to receive the latest malware infection database updates as well as improvements to Spyware Doctor's functionality and Help documentation. By running Smart Update regularly, you can help keep your system free of new infections.

• A wide range of sophisticated scanning tools including:
  
  A Hosts Scanner, which scans the Windows Hosts file for any mappings that may have been altered as a result of malware activities.
  
  A Browser Defaults, Favorites and ZoneMap Scanner, which determines if malware has altered your browser home page, favorites or has added any malicious sites to your Trusted Sites list.
  
  The original state-of-the-art scanning engines, including file scan, memory scan, registry scan, browser helper objects scan, cookie scan and much more.

• The OnGuard feature, designed for continual protection against malware infections and associated activities on your computer.
  
  OnGuard contains a set of tools designed to protect your computer by continually monitoring and blocking malicious activities on your system caused by malware, and preventing further malware infections. OnGuard tools include:

• A patent pending Keylogger Guard tool, which uses behavioral detection as opposed to signature-dependent methods to detect and block keylogger activities on your computer.

Newly released and custom written keyloggers designed for specific attacks, will not normally be blocked by conventional signature detection methods. Using our new behavioral detection Spyware Doctor can prevent these keyloggers from recording keystrokes and causing damage much sooner than keylogger blockers based on signature-dependent methods.

• • An effective Browser Guard, which scans and removes unwanted Browser Extensions in addition to Browser Helper Objects.
    
    Unlike Browser Objects, which are constantly active and running while your browser is open, Browser Extensions can be activated manually through your browser, for example, through a button which has been added to your toolbar. Browser Extensions can open up a specific web page or run a program. Browser Guard now also monitors for changes to Internet Explorer start and default pages and if they are set to a malicious site, they are reset back to default settings.

  • A powerful Immunizer tool to keep your browsing safe.
    
    The Immunizer function protects your computer against ActiveX-based infections by preventing them from being installed on your system.

  • An easy-to-use Popup Blocker.
    
    Popup Blocker is designed to stop annoying popup windows appearing as you browse the Internet. Currently, Internet Explorer is the only browser integrated with Popup Blocker. Other browsers are planned for future releases, based on demand. Popup Blocker will only function when OnGuard protection is active. To temporarily disable Popup Blocker, hold the [CTRL] key down while clicking on the URL that generates the popup.

  • A Scheduler, to allow scheduling of a Quick Scan, Full Scan or Smart Update at specified times and intervals.
    
    Spyware Doctor incorporates a Scheduler as part of its OnGuard set of tools. This tool may be used to schedule Quick Scans, Full Scans or Smart Updates at specified times and intervals. These actions can be conducted in the background and also set to begin only when your CPU usage is below a specified level.

  • A Site Guard tool (Anti-Phishing).
    
    Site Guard (Anti-Phishing) prevents your browser from going to web sites that either install malware onto your computer or masquerade as legitimate businesses or eCommerce sites, which could steal your personal information. Examples of this could be a site that looks like your online bank with the same or similar URL that prompts the user to input their login information in order to steal their savings.

  • A Process Guard tool, which prevents known malicious processes from running on your computer.

Malicious processes can run upon the execution of a known malicious executable file.

• • A Startup Guard tool, which checks for and removes malicious files that attempt to run automatically on your system when Windows starts up.

Startup Guard scans the areas of your system capable of affecting files running at Windows startup: the Windows Startup folder, "Run" sections of the Windows Registry, Windows bootable files and the Windows Shared Tasks Scheduler.

• Ability to quarantine and restore items that have been detected.
  
  Spyware Doctor allows you to remove malware infections from your system that have been detected in a scan, or quarantine them into a contained area. The majority of infections that have been quarantined can be restored at a later time for example. You can customize Spyware Doctor to either remove or quarantine malware items fixed in a scan.

• A Malware Detective Wizard tool, available from the Tools screen.
  
  Should you have a recurring malware removal problem, Malware Detective enables you to easily send necessary system information to PC Tools for further investigation. Furthermore, any new tools will be added here when released via Smart Update, allowing Spyware Doctor to constantly improve upon its existing functionality.