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Spyware is software that reports demographic and web browsing information to people who collect it and redirects your web searches to sites that pay spyware makers. Other terms for spyware are adware, malware, and scumware. I will use the generic term, spyware, here.

The side effects of the spyware are extra processes running in the background which slow your PC, web browsing not working, web pop-ups, and problems with your Operating System. Spyware is often poorly written. It damages Windows and hogs system resources. Most pop ups are a result of spyware infestations. Here's a Microsoft Article describing some signs that you may have a Spyware Infection.

If you suspect that you have a pretty bad spyware problem, please get professional help from a forum like WindowsForum's Spyware Forum, or Malware Removal's Forum. By professional, I mean help from highly trained people who are accustomed to assisting in spyware removal, not a pay site. Both of those above are free. There are more forums below in the paragraph about ASAP.

If you don't believe you're infected, or think you have a 'mild' spyware problem, read on.

If you already have antispyware software, chances are very good that it's either a dud (doesn't remove spyware effectively, or at all!), or in the worst cases, it will have spyware built into it!

One of the sites I use to determine whether a new antispyware product is worth looking at is Spyware Warrior's Rogue/Suspect Antispyware site. Please check your antispyware program against those on the site. There are about 150 Rogue or Suspect programs and only 7 approved ones!

Before running Ad-Aware or Spybot Search & Destroy, remove as many scumware programs as you can through Add/Remove Programs, as explained on the Remove unneeded programs section of the Windows Optimization page.

Things like Comet Cursor, MyWebSearch, BetterInternet, BonziBuddy, or almost anything claiming to help you search the Internet, or Tool Bar related, should be removed.

Free Spyware Scanning and Protection

Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool - Free from Microsoft. This is NOT a full antivirus or antispyware scanner, but it is quick and easy to run. You might run this first, then proceed to the software below.

Microsoft Antispyware (Beta) - Free to download, install, and use if you have a valid copy of Windows 2000 or XP. The software will validate your windows installation before allowing you to download it. In my opinion it's worth the extra moment it takes to validate Windows. This is a full blown Antispyware program that runs in the background and will stop spyware and malware real time somewhat like an Antivirus program. Microsoft bought Giant Antispyware and uses it as the basis for this product.

You can use Ad-Aware, and Spybot (below) for both scanning for and removal of spyware. They’re both free, and will not cause any conflicts if they’re both installed, since they do not run in the background. I do not recommend starting scans with both of them at the same time though. Remember, since these don't run in the background, you'll have to manually run them periodically.

Ad-Aware - Free for personal use. Automatic (automatic meaning you have to start a scan yourself, but once started it will automatically detect spyware and allow you to select it for removal) spyware detection and removal. Update often, and run at least once a week.

Spybot Search & Destroy - Free for personal use. Automatic spyware detection and removal. Update often, immunize your system, and run at least once a week.

If you’ve used Ad-Aware, and Spybot, and believe you still have scumware issues, please visit WindowsForum's Spyware Forum, or Malware Removal's Forum for further help. Create a login and follow the instructions on NeoPlanet's Please Read before you post, or MalWare Removal's similar page then follow further instructions and post your exact issue and HJT log here for NeoPlanet, or here for MalWare Removal. By the time you read the posts, you'll know what a HJT log is and how to go about obtaining one.

If you want some alternatives to NeoPlanet or Malware Removal, or if they're not available, you can select from a list on the left side of this link to the Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals (ASAP). ASAP is dedicated to making sure that sites providing spyware removal support are well trained and do outstanding work. Here are some quotes from their site:

Protect yourself from future spyware infections with Javacool's SpywareGuard and SpywareBlaster. SpywareGuard's signatures don't update often, but that's because it uses a heuristic spyware detection method. They don't seem to conflict with Microsoft Antispyware, and they're relatively small and unobtrusive.