STOPzilla is no newcomer to the computer security game; the software has been on the market since 2002. It has kept pace with the proliferation of spyware, phishing, and other online threats, and has maintained a solid, loyal customer base. With this version of the product, however, STOPzilla has made major upgrades in functionality and usability that takes it to the top of the class.

User Interface: STOPzilla 5.0 has been completely redesigned to display the software's major functionality from one easy-to-read main window, a dashboard-like screen called Home. The user can change all basic settings from this console and launch a scan manually. Home also shows version information, definition version and date of last scan.

Scanning: Users can now select from four sets of parameters when scanning for infections. STOPzilla can perform scans automatically, on a custom schedule, or manually as desired. In our tyesting, scanning as extremely thorough and detected 100% of the malware that had been pre-installed.

Real-Time Protection: STOPzilla supports many advanced settings of the real-time Spyware protection engine. For the novice user, default settings work just fine. In our tests, enhanced detection functionality preempted botnets, rootkits, phishing attacks, exploits, and other social engineering attacks.

Upgrades and Updates: User can configure how and when updates and upgrades will be performed.

Value: The price of STOPzilla is $39.95 for a 1-year subscription, $19.95 after the $20 mail-in rebate. You can extend the 1-year subscription for 24 months for $49.95, or 36 months for $69.95. Given STOPzilla’s technology and the level of customer support, we give it best-in-class for value!

Integrated Support Options: Support options also include free unlimited toll-free phone support, e-mail and chat. Remote Live Access enables senior level support technicians to get user’s permission and view desktop and share control of mouse and keyboard to fix problems with one phone call. The iS3 Web site features helpful articles and FAQs.

Top Features

• Detects, blocks, and removes spyware including rootkits.
• Kills Adware.
• Cookie and history cleaner.
• Blocks pop-up ads.
• Blocks phishing attacks and malicious Web sites.
• Stops browser hijackers.
• Free scan and quarantine of infections.
• Free unlimited technical support visa phone, e-mail, and live chat.
• 30-day unconditional money-back guarantee.

Pros

• Easy to install via download.
• User interface and anti-spyware functionality of STOPzilla was very easy to understand and navigate.
• Did a great job of blocking pop-ups and protecting users from spyware threats in real time.
• Pop-up blocker with manageable Blacklist/Whitelist tool
• SiteGuard™ anti-phishing and malicious Web site protection
• Low memory consumption: 25 Mb.
• Configurable scheduling for automatic scans and updates.
• The trial version allows you to remove detected threats for up to 30 days.
• Automatic updates protect against the latest threats without user interaction actions. This anti-spyware software practically runs itself.

Cons

• Registration process could be improved.
• Application may slow down browsers very slightly on older systems.
• Stringent anti-spyware precautions may generate some false positives for malicious Web sites.
• No companion anti-virus engine.
• No support for e-mail or Instant Messenger protection.
• Poor tracking cookie detection.

Installation: Download is easy and intuitive. Upon installation, STOPzilla performed a full scan of our system which included all files, the system registry, drivers, processes, services, and more. All suspected malware was quarantined safely.

Spyware Detection: In our testing, STOPzilla detected, blocked, and quarantined 100% of technically sophisticated spyware in real-time; before it breached the system security. Particularly impressive was its new rootkit detector. Whenever STOPzilla detected an infection, it displayed an alert in real time indicating that the infection was safely quarantined until such time as we chose to remove it or allow it. The alert also prompted us to perform a scan, to ensure that all files associated with the malicious “payload” would be removed completely.

Phishing and Malicious Web site Protection: Previously, STOPzilla’s SITEguard™ technology used database analysis to block known phishing sites. STOPzilla 5.0 has added some strong heuristics and now blocks malicious Web sites -including sites in our testing that contained exploits- using multiple, robust technologies.

Customer Support: Great customer support via an online database, e-mail, online chat and phone support. Live chat and phone support were equally responsive and helpful; our inquiry was handled within a few minutes. We were surprised at how quickly they were able to expedite our questions. Our email request was answered within 15 minutes. The answer was comprehensive and informative and addressed our question thoroughly. Call center available seven days a week, 7 A.M. – midnight weekdays.