Is your computer running slower than normal? Does your start page keep going to porn or you have random web browser windows opening up every 5 minutes? Sounds like you've been infected with spyware/ad-ware. Even if your computer doesn't have any obvious signs, it's still a good thing to check for this invasive software. Here's a list of what we run on our systems at home and in the office to keep them clean and running fast.

CounterSpy - An excellent all in one solution that cleans, blocks, protects, and auto updates it's spam definition files. If you only want to run one program, we highly recommend this.

Spybot Search & Destroy - Excellent software for cleaning you system.

Ad-Aware Personal SE - Use in conjunction with Spybot to remove what Spybot may have missed.

Microsoft Windows Defender - Live protection similar to how Norton AntiVirus auto-protect works.

HiJackThis - If after running all the above, your web browser is still hijacked by spyware, try this.

WinSock XP Fix - Download and run this in case removing spyware corrupts your Windows XP connectivity.

1. Once you have all the software downloaded, it's time to install them. First, install Microsoft Windows Defender using all the default settings. It's still in beta, but it works great (be sure to get the final version when it's released). Have it download the updates and run a scan for spyware. View the results when done to get to the removal screen. With this installed, you'll be protected from any future spyware trying to install itself while your trying to clean out your system.

2. Run Ad-Aware Personal SE and have it do a full system scan. This will take care of anything that the Microsoft scanner may have missed.

3. Now install Spybot Search & Destroy with all the default settings, but be sure to enable TeaTimer. This will notify you if a program is adding anything to your Windows startup or making changes to your web browser. If you're installing software and it needs to make a change to the startup settings, then allow it, otherwise, block it. Immunize your system and don't forget to keep the software up to date. You can click on Mode -> Advanced mode to find additional settings such as "Immunize on program start," automatic web updates, and scheduled scans. I recommend turning these on so that Spybot stays up to date and runs on it's own. Once you have all your updates installed, do a full system scan.

4. Are your web browser's start page or search pages are still going to undesirable sites? Running HiJackThis should remedy it.

5. If for some reason you find that the Windows XP firewall has been disabled or that you can no longer connect to the Internet after removing all the spyware, you'll need to run WinSock XP Fix. Be sure you have this downloaded and saved ahead of time.

That's about it. You should be safe from spyware if you take all the above steps. The most important thing is to keep your software up to date. Speaking of which, make sure your anti virus definitions are current and that your subscription hasn't expired. I've seen so many systems that have virus definitions from 2001 on them.

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