PC Tools may have been acquired in recent years by Symantec, but its apparent that Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus is not in the same league as Symantec's Norton Antivirus program. Read our review for the good (a short list) and not-so-good of Spyware Dr. with Antivirus...


1) Installation:  ⁴/₅

On our reference machine*, installation of Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2011 completed in a very speedy 84 seconds, without any reboots required. After installation, Spyware Doctor performs a scan of your computer to ensure that it's virus-free.

*Reference Computer: Windows 7 Home Premium running on a Toshiba Pentium Dual-Core T4200, with 3GB of RAM and a 210GB hard drive. 2) Features & Ease of Use:  5/10 Spyware Doctor is one of the least attractive virus scanners on the market. The combination of non-anti-aliased text and dialogs that look like throwbacks to Windows 95 lend to the feeling that the application hasn't been updated in years. Get past the clunky UI, and you find that Spyware Doctor sports a sizable number of features and protections. How many of them are accessible to ordinary end users, however, is a matter of debate. Unlike most antivirus Dashboards, Spyware Doctor doesn't display the current security state of your computer; instead, it displays which of its security protections are currently active. The Scan Now button on the Dashboard enables launching a full scan with a single click, while the accompanying IntelliGuard button displays all of the other protections that Spyware Doctor provides against both known and unknown threats. IntelliGuard is where Spyware Doctor shines: it protects against malicious downloads, rootkits, arbitrary network attacks, tracking cookies, e-mails, and rogue Web sites, among others. Spyware Doctor 2011 Dashboard: The Spyware Doctor Tools menu provides a number of additional features. Outside of the ISO (CD-ROM) Burner, however, it's unclear how often non-technical end users will avail themselves of utilities such as the Threat Removal Tool, or the File and Registry Key tool. (Most users don't know how to edit their Registry - and many of those who do know, probably shouldn't.) Finally, right-clicking on the Spyware Doctor icon in the System Tray provides access to Gaming Mode, a popular anti-virus feature that limits virus protection activity when you're engaged in a processor-intensive function, such as watching a movie or playing a game. This option must be unchecked manually when users wish to resume normal virus scanning activity. This is different than other antivirus software, many of which automatically enable Game Mode when they detect an application running full screen. 3) Virus Scanner:  2/5 Spyware Doctor supports several types of scans: a Full Scan of all of the contents of your computer; an "Intelli-Scan" that checks running processes and other critical problem areas; and a Custom Scan that can be scoped to specific files, directories, or devices. Spyware Doctor Virus Scanner: Speed: On our reference system (see above), Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2011 yielded some of the worst scan results we've seen all year, processing a mediocre 16.1 MB per second. At this rate, it took the application 63.5 seconds to process our 1GB test file matrix. The Intelli-Scan - what other vendors call a "Quick Scan" - took a not-quite-so-quick 1 minute and 45 seconds. Updates: Spyware Doctor updates its virus definitions an average of 3.5 times per day, placing it slightly below the middle of the pack when compared with other antivirus platforms. 4) Performance Testing:  2.5/10 A good antivirus program should not only protect your computer from viruses but also not slow down the Performance of your computer too much by using up your computer's resources. We run each antivirus program through a set of Performance Tests to see the impact it has on the computer. View the results below of our antivirus testing for Spyware Doctor 2011... • Memory Use: Spyware Doctor 2011 uses 25.4 MB of system memory. #9 rated of the 15 antivirus programs we tested. • Reboot Time: Spyware Doctor added 28.6 seconds to our test computer's reboot time. #15 rated (worst) program we tested this year. • Installation Size: Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2011 requires 255 MB of hard-drive space for installation. #3 rated program we tested. • Initial Scan Speed: Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus scans files the first time at a speed of 16.1 MB/s. #14 rated program we tested. • Subsequent Scan Speed: Spyware Doctor performs subsequent scans at a speed of 134.7 MB/s. #6 rated program we tested. • Initial Application Launch: Spyware Doctor 2011 added 0.665s to launch a web browser for the first time after a reboot. #9 rated program we tested. • Subsequent Application Launch: Spyware Doctor added 0.435s on average for subsequent web browser launches. This was the #15 rated program we tested. • File Conversion Time: Spyware Doctor added 0.73s on average to convert a MP3 file to four other file types. #14 rated program we tested. • System Impact Score: The "System Impact Score" is a comparative score tallied from the above 8 Antivirus tests. Spyware Doctor 2011 scored a total of 43 out of 120 points when compared to the other antivirus programs tested. This ranked Spyware Doctor 2011 as the WORST rated antivirus program we tested this year (#15 of 15 programs tested). Spyware Doctor w/ AntiVirus shows its weaknesses in our Performance Tests - it was by far the worst performing program we tested this year (significantly worse than the next two programs - AVG 2011 and Panda 2011). 5) Effectiveness: (Virus/Malware Detection)  10.5/15 The most important function of an antivirus program is to keep your computer free from Viruses and other Malware. Below we'll take a look at some of the industry's top Virus/Malware Detection testing and certification. a) AV Comparatives is an independent antivirus testing lab in Austria providing some of the most trusted virus detection tests in the industry. They have 2 major virus/malware tests that they perform. In the most recent test in November, the Proactive Test, Spyware Doctor was rated 2 out of 3 Stars. In the 2nd test last August, the On Demand Detection Test, Spyware Doctor performed better receiving a 3-Star rating.     b) AV-Test is another major antivirus testing lab which is located in Germany. In their recent antivirus testing in 2010, Spyware Doctor received a 13 / 18 score on the Windows 7 platform. In the 2nd set of tests run on Windows XP, Spyware Doctor received a 15.5 / 18 score. While on the 3rd test run on Windows Vista, Spyware Doctor received a 12.5 / 18 score. All 3 of these scores were high enough to receive AV-Test's Certification level which is given for scores of 12 points or higher on each platform. Despite these tests being run on Spyware Doctor's Internet Security software, they are useful when evaluating Spyware Doctor's more basic antivirus program since they test the software's Protection and Repair capabilities against Viruses and Malware. Win 7: Win XP: Win Vista:         c) ICSA Labs has not certified PC Tools' Spyware Doctor with Antivirus software, or any other versions of PC Tools security software. ICSA is an independent organization that sets standards for security products and certifies anti-virus software. d) Virus Bulletin's VB 100% Certified. Spyware Doctor passed the most recent VB100 test (Dec./10), and has passed the previous 4 tests dating back to December 2009. However, in the August 2009 test, Spyware Doctor failed the VB test miserably - with 1355 WildList misses and 1 false positive. The VB 100% award is given to antivirus software that detects all viruses "in the wild." e) West Coast Labs' Checkmark Anti-Virus Desktop Certification. WCL specializes in functionality testing, performance validation and Checkmark Certification of security products. 6) Help & Support:  3/5 »Inline Assistance: Inline application text ranges from the great to the cryptic. The Scan Now page, for instance, contains a detailed description of each scan type. By contrast, the Tools page describes the ISO Burner utility like so: "A tool to simplify the downloading and burning of AOSS." We have to search Google to discover that AOSS is PC Tools jargon for "Alternate Operating System Scanner," a virus scanner that can be used in the event of a malware infection that might have corrupted Spyware Doctor itself. »Local Help: The local Windows Help file is nothing but a "Quick Start" guide that contains nothing but the most basic information. Even worse, the local help file contains help topics for four different products! It took a little digging to find the full online Help manual on the PC Tools Web site. »Online Support: PC Tools offers the full range of support options you'd expect from an antivirus vendor, including Live Chat, Email, and 24-hour Telephone Support. The site also hosts a community forum and knowledge base, available to both free users and paid subscribers. »Quick Support Links:      • Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2011 Online Help Guide      • Support Home      • Knowledge Base      • Online Forum      • Live Chat Support      • Email Support      • Telephone Support CONCLUSION: In our review of Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2011 one thing was apparent - it doesn't really stand above its competition in any way. While Spyware Doctor comes loaded with a good set of protections, its somewhat clunky interface, inclusion of highly technical features, ultra-slow virus scanning speed, and rock-bottom Performance results in our testing make it hard to recommend. Overall Rating: Average   (Total Score: 27 / 50 = 2.5 Stars) Misc Info:     • Version Tested: 8.0.0.624     • Release Date:     • Review Date:     • Last Updated:     • Previous Version: Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010