PROS
Easy to install
Easy to uninstall
Poor antispyware protection
Poor manual scanning
Poor support options
Over simplistic UI
SpyZooka software is an antispyware software that claims to be 100% effective... guaranteed.
This is a bewildering claim since it's one of the poorest performing antispyware software suites we tested this year.
SpyZooka only detected one out of several spyware samples we tested, and more concerning, it didn't detect any of the trojans we threw at it.
The user interface is extremely simplistic to a point that it feels like the makers of SpyZooka just slapped it together at the last minute.
All of these factors together make it hard for us to take SpyZooka antispyware seriously as a respectable spyware removal software tool.
SpyZooka Antispyware Features
- Real-time antispyware protection
- Automated features
- Daily updates
- PC immunization
- Free customer support
Installation - 80%
The SpyZooka antispyware installation was very easy and straight forward.
A standard setup wizard will walk you through the installation process.
No reboot is needed to complete the installation.
User Interface - 60%
SpyZooka has the most simple user interface out of all the antispyware software we've tested. And by “simple” we mean lacking in good navigational structure.
The different screens of this antispyware software have only one navigation path, whereas other antispyware products give you multiple options per screen.
Not with SpyZooka. It's a bare-bones approach to antispyware UI.
And it's very unsophisticated in design as well. It uses straight links instead of buttons like you'd expect to see.
Very unimpressive and barely adequate.
Pre-Infected Machine - 10%
$29.95
We pre-infected our testing computer then installed SpyZooka antispyware to see if it could detect any of the trojans and spyware we placed on it.
SpyZooka didn't detect any of our trojan sets and only detected one of our spyware sets.
Compared to the other antispyware software we tested (which performed flawlessly in some cases), SpyZooka had one of the lowest scores.
Real-time Protection - 10%
Real-time antispyware protection didn't do any better.
None of our trojans were detected when we downloaded them to our testing PC. Even when the dangerous files were accessed, SpyZooka didn't see them.
Out of all our spyware and adware samples, SpyZooka only detected a single malicious spyware file.
There's no pop-up blocking either.
A very poor result.
Manual Scanning - 10%
Manual scanning didn't fare any better.
We infected our testing computer with a trojan, spyware, and adware one right after the other, then launched a full system scan.
None of our trojans were detected. Only one of our spyware samples were detected.
Again, a manual scan which should be able to detect and eliminate any threats not captured by real-time antispyware protection failed.
Resource Usage - 91%
| Real-time protection: |
Manual Scanning: |
| Memory usage: 3.7 MB |
Memory usage: 13.5 KB |
| CPU usage: 0% to 21% |
CPU usage: 4% to 61% |
| Page file usage: 145 MB |
Page file usage: 157 MB |
Definition Updates - 70%
Updates can be scheduled so they will be downloaded to the system at regular intervals.
However, only daily intervals are the fastest intervals available. We highly recommend antispyware software that can deliver definition updates hourly. Spyware threats are a minute-by-minute threat.
Daily definitions are simply not fast enough to keep up with that threat.
Customer Support - 30%
Users can submit a support ticket online.
The support page is very messy with only two or three minor support options mixed into a single section of “FAQs”.
No real effort is made to connect with their customers or give real support.
Un-Installation - 95%
The SpyZooka antispyware software uninstallation was very easy.
Simply open ADD/REMOVE Programs feature in Windows, then select SpyZooka and click Remove.
No reboot is needed to complete the un-installation.
Special Features - 85%
- File Shredder: This feature permanently deletes sensitive or personal files. This way, spyware data recovery programs can't go in and get your sensitive information (like credit card numbers, social security number, passwords) from files you only thought were deleted.
- IE Favorites Guard: Protects Internet Explorer’s favorites list from unwanted additions like annoying shopping or adware sites that a malicious spyware program might add to your list.
- IE Toolbar Guard: Prevents unwanted toolbar installations like toolbar designed to show you popups or unwanted advertisement sites.
System Requirements
SpyZooka works on all Microsoft Windows platforms. This includes Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, XP 64 bit, Media Center, Vista and Vista 64 bit.
Spyzooka works with these browsers:
Internet Explorer, FireFox, Opera, Netscape
The SpyZooka website doesn't list any other system requirements, so it's hard to tell if you have the proper system specs for it to run correctly.
Conclusion
$29.95
Though SpyZooka claims their antispyware software to be a 100% spyware removal software, the antispyware software couldn’t detect the sample files we used for our testing.
The full system manual scan was completed in less than a minute. It's unlikely that any software can scan through all the files (reg entries, deep scan, etc) in less than one minute.
Moreover, the software tended to disable the task bar. Annoying.
Given the poor performance in detecting spyware and more dangerous trojans, we can't recommend SpyZooka antispyware software this year.
