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Security Software
Protect yourself from viruses, worms and trojans. Keeping adware and spyware at bay can be done free

Read Get Safe Online advice site

Anti adware/spyware/pop -ups

Adware, diallers, trackware, hijackers, keyloggers, dialers and other sorts of spyware enter your computer via pop ups, email attachments and cookies. Most report back to their sponsor to target users with directed ads.
The more nasty ones take over your Windows Internet Explorer or will premium rate dial out from your machine causing bills often of hundreds of pounds (UK)

Browser hijackers drastically affect a computer's performance whilst presenting the user with a new targeted home page and numerous pop-ups for a variety of unsavory sites. Some of the more maicious such as the family of Cool Web Searches are almost (but not quite) impossible to remove.

All these present a more prevalent and potent threat to normal computer users than the more traditional viruses.

Some effective tools to try

Microsoft AntiSpyware - Microsoft's antispyware product
Free at present. Very effective

Ad-Aware SE- free and registered editions. Latest free edition very effective

Popup Stopper Free - keep pop ups at bay
Spybot - free (donations)

Spysweeper - free and registered editions

Spywareblaster - free utility. stops spyware entering system

spysites - a database of over 1,500 known Spy/Sleaze sites. You can copy to 'resticted sites' in IE

CWShredder CWShredder™ finds and destroys traces of CoolWebSearch.This is part of Trend Micro Anti-Spyware but is available free as a standalone. One of the few products to remove this malignant browser hijacker.
See their info sheet about CWS

Trend Micro free anti-spyware tool a free online tool that checks computers for spyware. This is a highly effective tool that checks for and removes trackware, trojans, keyloggers, adware, diallers, hijackers and parasites.

Spyware advice websites

Free-Web-Browsers.com - advice on browser toolbars
and online privacy
Spywareremoversreview
Spyware Warrior - superb non biased advice and detail about rogue programs and sites
Spywareinfo - had really useful articles and discussions. Need to register.
Adware advice: Adware, Spyware and other unwanted "malware" - and how to remove them

Spyware article from LSW

Internet/system clean/anti spam

These programs will clear out unecessary files that build up in your compuer system.

Using the Internet leaves behind many traces: cookies, temporary files of all sorts, web page content, recently typed urls, registry entries etc - clean them out to erase details of your surfing and clean up the system.

There are a huge number of these. Some effective ones you can use free and might consider buying are listed below

Acronis Privacy Expert

Internet Cleanup

Antispam

Lots of programs aim to stop spam entering your system - with greatly varying degrees of success.

Have a look at SpamPal

Surferbeware - antispam advice

Free Browsers and Email

Mozilla Thunderbird- the latest generation web mail client

Mozilla Firefox - the latest generation web browser

The new Netscape browser has greatltly improved security

Read about its features