You may not notice any visual changes in Spybot Release Candidate 1 (RC1) but there are a lot of improvements below the surface.

One thing you will notice is the new licensing scheme, but don't worry we are still providing (and will continue to provide) a fully functioning free version of Spybot - Search & Destroy. All precious features like scanning, fixing and passive protection features such as the immunization will still be available. Of course shredding files is an essential part of the free version as well. The new Startup Tools will help you to browse through autostart entries and assist you taking a deeper look in your system. Separate scans for Rootkits or single file scans are also part of Spybot - Search & Destroy 2.0 Free Edition.

The new licensing scheme is to make distribution to our professional userseasier for us. Some features, like support for networked environments, boot CD creation and more - features that the average user may not require, will be available to licensed users.

While Spybot 2 has not reached final state, we will of course provide a license for testing free of charge, registration will not be required. As always, users of the free edition won't have to register even in the future. A few highlights of the release candidate are:

  • Extended whitelisting identification for File Scanner and Startup Tools
  • New Protected Repair Environment allows to run all Spybot - Search & Destroy tools in a separate and secure desktop
  • Full Scan runs faster through files in your download directory
  • Separate File Scanner can now handle huge folders
  • Fixed problems with Cleaner on reboot
  • Added Russian localisation
  • Included is a Professional Edition Test License (valid for 2 months)
If you decide you like the additional features in the licensed version and want to give us a minimum donation of $10, send us an email using this form when you make your donation and we'll generate and send you a Personal license when version 2 is released!

We wish all American users a happy Independence Day and all users around the world a happy 4th of July.

Would you like to test the Release Candidate? Download it here: [Mirror 1] [Mirror 2] [Mirror 3] [Torrent] (File size: 47 MB, MD5 sum: 54D69077BD0DFFF6880E97A4C0F59A4B)

Please visit our forum for general questions or comments about this release. Use our bug reporting form if you want to report a bug.

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