Ease of Setup/Use:  

The design for Spyware Doctor eliminates submenus and dialog boxes entirely.  You will only be able to find dialog boxes when you go to update the program or adjust the settings for a custom scan.  Otherwise everything you need is a click away in their simple tab design.  Everything runs smoothly and quickly, which helps the user cleanse their computer quicker.  As many people who have had spyware running rampant on their machine can testify, getting your computer healthy again can't wait. 

Detection Effectiveness:  

If your computer is infected with spyware, odds are Spyware Doctor is going to track it down.  It's top of the line when it comes to tracking down malware.  However, in terms of rootkit and keylogger capabilities, it could use some improvements.  It found most of the samples we created from both of these categories, but it didn't detect all of them.  Don't worry about this though.  In a short amount of time, their updates will probably come along and eliminate these loopholes.

Removal Effectiveness:  

Once Spyware Doctor deletes spyware traces from your computer, IntelliGuard steps in to make sure they don't come back.  With 10 different shields, pretty much every type of spyware is going to be guarded against.  It's one thing to delete the spyware; it's another thing to keep it from coming back.  This program is one of the best when it comes to removal effectiveness.

System Performance:  

We encountered no system slowdown when we ran Spyware Doctor.  If you have a recent machine, it isn't going to use up a lot of your CPU.  You can have a scan running and still be able to do whatever you want in the background.  Spyware already does a number on your system's speed.  It's good to see a program that doesn't add to that slowdown.

Scan Performance:  

With Spyware Doctor, scans can be slow or quick, depending on what settings you choose and the amount of files on your computer. Be patient though.  When a scan takes awhile, it doesn't mean the program is slow; it just means its taking its time when going through your system.  Luckily, it doesn't take too long for the program to thoroughly investigate your system.

Support/Documentation:  

PC Tools allows you to browse their knowledgebase, interact with other users in their community forums, read user guides and check on release information.  You can contact them via live chat, email or telephone.

Spyware Doctor from PC Tools is one of the best antispyware programs out there.  It can detect most of the spyware in existence today and prevent it from ever coming back.  Updates are coming out for this program almost every day, so it's going to keep getting better.