If you are on the internet and looking at this page then you MUST have the following installed on your PC:

Anti-Spyware / Anti-Adware Utility

Is your PC being used as a spam-generating factory and distribution center without your knowledge? Do people send you emails saying that you've sent them spam or virus-infected emails? Does your computer run abnormally slow all of the time? Are pop-up ads frequently appearing on your screen? Do you hate spam and wish there was something you could do to help stop it?

If you are not using an effective anti-spy/ad-ware utility then your PC is very likely an active contributor to the overall spam problem. Recent studies indicate that nearly 80% of all spam is generated from unprotected home and business PCs that have been quietly commandeered by trojan spyware that uses them to generate and send out spam.(article, article, article) This is often NOT prevented by your anti-virus software.

It no longer matters how careful you are with your web browsing habits. You can be "hi-jacked" while browsing sites that would seem to be harmless. You don't have to go looking for trouble to find it. Sometimes, even commercial sites are compromised and become malicious servers, thus infecting potentially thousands of visitors before the site administrators have a chance to correct it. In 2004, this affected scores of academic users (including colleages at my office) while accessing software updates at a well-known commerical mathematical software site - it was soon discovered the site itself had been compromised by hackers to dispense malicious web pages; it was soon after fixed, but only after numerous infections during the previous couple of days.

Perhaps the greatest risk in these threats comes in the form of identity theft, leading to fraud. Perhaps the most invasive and malicious form of spyware is keystroke loggers and transponders. These are small programs that are quietly (without your knowledge) installed on your computer when browsing a malicious page and record absolutely everything you type on your keyboard. Periodically, these trojan programs then transmit their logs of your keystrokes to remote servers where hackers can retrieve them for illicit purposes (primarily to find your email server address, financial institution links, login IDs, passwords, etc.). In cases such as these, it does not matter if your web connections to sensitive sites are encrypted or "secure" - the sensitive information (web addresses, account numbers, IDs and passwords) is being collected locally on your own computer directly from your keyboard; secure/encrypted web connections only protect against eavesdropping on a network connection bewteen you and the web site you are using (your bank or whatever). Once installed, the keystroke logging threat is also completely effective in bypassing nearly all firewall configurations, since it appears to be legitimate network traffic trying to leave - not enter - the protected network.

This has become just as critical as having anti-virus software, especially as it concerns using the web. Your anti-virus software largely protects you from threats arriving through your email, and from "worms" that are proactively roaming the internet looking for vulnerable PCs to exploit. Spyware and Adware are newer types of threats of no less significance in the web browsing world. In some cases, they pose an even greater threat to your privacy and security, and that of others who know you.

Even if you are skeptical, just download a trial version of any reputable anti-spy/ad-ware utility. If you have never done so, your jaw will likely drop wide open when you discover how much trash is already in your computer. I have seen this time and again with friends and family on their computers - and my own about two years ago.

Just as you probably wouldn't consider using email without anti-virus software, you also shouldn't consider using the web without anti-spy/ad-ware software protecting you during those activities.

So, when everything is said and done, if you are not willing to use effective anti-spy/ad-ware software, then please do everyone a favor and never access the internet from your PC again. That sounds like hyperbole, but I'm quite serious.

Getting protection:

My opinion is that free software is not going to cut it. I would spare no reasonable expense in acquiring an effective utility subscription that remains proactive and effective in this monumental battle; the threats increase by the dozens each day.

In your comparisons, consider packages that provide real-time filtering and protection (malicious content/traffic blocking in addition to identification and removal on your hard drive). Also, note if features integrate only with Internet Explorer - if so, be sure you use IE. Otherwise, it could present additional risks if you are using an alternative browser that is not supported by the utility's real-time protection features.

This content and more will be revised shortly, but in the meantime, I had to get this much out. It is essential.

• Webroot's SpySweeper (I use it.)
• Sunbelt Software's CounterSpy
• McAfee's spamkiller
• Norton Internet Security 2005 (ASE)

If you insist on using something free, or if you want to double up your protection with a supplemental utility (in some cases, one utility will not catch EVERYTHING). Then you should consider using:

• Spybot Search and Destroy