interpret as an attempt to harmfully manipulate the file. This can be circumvented by not immunizing the hosts-file in Spybot S&D. Trend Micro Officescan followed Norton, Kaspersky and McAfee in simply removing Spybot without warning or notification afterwards. Internet Explorer 8 The immunisation feature of Spybot – Search & Destroy caused Internet Explorer 8 to start slower than expected. Fix KB969897, which resolved this problem while addressing certain other security vulnerabilities, was issued by Microsoft in 2009. Malicious lookalikes There are several malicious programs designed to look like this anti-malware software, with similar user interfaces and program file names. Some actually install spyware. These programs are known as rogue antispyware. One such program is "SpywareBot". This program is a known rogue antispyware program, which fraudulently impersonates various anti-malware software including Spybot Search & Destroy. However, this lookalike, unlike Spybot S&D, requires payment. References External links Official forums Spyware removal Windows-only freeware Windows security software