How do I remove spyware from my PC?17 March 2005
By now, we all know what spyware is - and, if you've read our article on how to spot spyware on your PC, you will be able to tell if you've been the victim of some malicious program.
The key thing to do if you suspect you have spyware on your PC is to install and run one of the freely available spyware detection and removal tools. There are several free and paid for options available on the Internet that will help battle spyware. The key thing to remember is that none of these are fool proof and often you have to try a few to make sure your PC is cleaned of any malicious content.
Some of most popular products to detect and remove spyware are:
- SpywareGuide.com and XBlock have teamed up to offer a free scan, which is an Activex applet that will run on your computer and question suspicious programs on your drives and give you the option to remove them.
- Etrust's Pest Patrol gives you the ability to sweep your PC of malicious software designed to invisibly track the sites you surf, the products you buy, and the messages you send. But while the free evaluation will detect pests, it will not remove them.
- Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is the best known of spyware removal tools. It works like a virus checker, scanning locations on your computer for the signature files, registry entries and cookies (tracking files) of well-known spyware programs, websites and vendors.
- While Lavasoft is the most well known, Spybot Search and Destroy is probably one of the most recommended of free spyware removal tools. As well as identifying and removing existing spyware on your PC, the Spybot software alerts you of attempts to infiltrate your system.
- In terms of range and usability there is also XoftSpy and NoAdware to consider. XoftSpy is known to detect the widest variety of threats while NoAdware is the easiest to use.
