Spyware, adware, and viruses

It seems today that you can't browse more than a few search results before you stumble upon popups and malicious web page components. They popup ads, add toolbars, hijack your home page, and make other changes without your permission. To remove, and most importantly prevent, these abuses you need to have the software to fight them.

Here are a couple of products that can help you keep your computer clear of a good portion of internet threats:

ewido anti-spyware (Free) - Offers a free 30-day trial version containing all the extensions of the full version. At the end of the trial, these extensions will be deactivated and the program will turn into a feature-limited freeware version.

Ad-Aware (Free) - Ad-Aware Personal is a free download that provides advanced protection from known data-mining, aggressive advertising, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components.

Spyware Doctor (Free) - The free trial version of Spyware Doctor is designed to scan and detect the types of unwanted files you might have on your PC such as spyware, adware and key loggers.

Spybot Search & Destroy (Free) - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer.


These softwares alone won't guarantee that your computer will always be clean, but are a good start! Combined with an anti-virus program, anti-spam protection, and regular system "tune-ups" your computer should run relatively well all the time.