Hi, i’m an happy user of free Avast! antivirus software …
This is a great software and for a perfect combo, it must have an integrated antispyware/adware checker/remover!!
What do you think ?? Is this a great idea for next Avast! Antivirus version ??
Welcome to the forum 
You can post your wishes in the wishlist-thread:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=12640.0
I’m happy like it is, I use other good antispyware-programs, but of course I would continue to use avast if it got a integrated antispyware feature
Personally, although I can see the appeal, I think this is a very bad idea.
Want a suite, buy a suite.
Stand alone applications, each specializing in their own bussiness, seem to be the way to go.
I can’t see a spyware module as a standalone application.
A suite could be antivirus + firewall + antispam, etc.
But spyware and virus, nowadays, are too close. Both use signatures to detect, both infect the Windows Registry…
I would love a spyware module into avast. This would improve the detection, won’t take that much resources (we can disable the very bad updated Windows Defender… :P).
Just my 0.02.
Hmm … I am not trying to start an argument but what is so bad about …
the very bad updated Windows Defender.
Slow updates, poor detection rate, mandatory use from Microsoft, poor interface, poor poor configurability…
Take resources - CPU and RAM - that, from time to time, bother me…
I can’t even compare this product with AVGantispyware or a-squared… They’re much much better in my opinion.
Microsoft could make an effort to make OS better and let the specific work of antivirus and antispyware to specialists…
Well, at least, we said the same to another other situations, why can’t you say this to MS?
I will not argue about the updates.
Defender has the same detection rate on my system as avast … both have detected nothing but Defender has never given me a false positive (avast has a few times). As to the interface - I’ve seen far worse.
I do not notice the presence of Defender in terms of CPU and RAM at all … I can still always tell even on my fairly high powered system that avast is installing a VPS update - that old wading through molasses feeling.
I’m only running Defender since it was raised as an issue in the ongoing “my avast updates do not work” some time back - so I wanted to check it out for myself. To me it seems quite harmless - but I will admit I have not done any research on its comparative effectiveness.
I did try the AVG antispyware once when David mentioned it some time ago - but it has the name AVG with it and that is a turn off for me - maybe I should take another look.
(Sorry to other readers for rambling off topic - if avast would allow us decent folks IMs again I wouldn’t need to).