This is a heads up on a great resource from the Spyware Warrior: Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites Trustworthy Anti-Spyware Products.
When you are choosing your anti-spyware protection, you should rely on products with deserved reputations and a proven track record. That means avoiding the new and unknown, and not succumbing to impulse buys of anti-spyware products that you see on the Net, especially those included in the “rogue/suspect” list or advertised on Google. It also doesn’t necessarily mean going with the majors as well.
At the very least, you should have at least one anti-spyware scanner, and there are several reputable anti-spyware scanners available on the internet — some even for free. But anti-spyware protection goes beyond having an anti-spyware scanner like my prefered mainstays, Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware Personal.
Even after installing and running an anti-spyware scanner, you should take steps to lock down your browser and protect your system against further infestation by spyware and adware.
Consider loading and installing Firefox and actually using it for your day to day browsing. Only use IE for the sites that are snotty enough to only accept IE.
Make sure you have updated and up to date AntiVirus software. AVG Free Edition is available free-of-charge to home users! AVG Free Edition is for private, non-commercial, single home computer use only. (Use of AVG Free Edition within any organization or for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited).
Another day we shall discuss the vexed question of personal firewalls.