The Internet is what I call a “filthy” place, that is to say there are so many aggressive marketers who actively engage in the process of covertly installing spyware onto a users system. Typically this “hidden” software will be sending back information to a database as a means of tracking your web surfing or as a way of displaying content specific advertising content based on what you view regularly. You know I guess that does make sense, doesn’t it? I mean a marketing campaign (don't click that unless ya have Spybot installed) is all about retrieving user info so we can deliver just the right ad!

The problem, I feel, is that this spyware is added without consent, or indeed if spyware is added with consent it is typically written in the smallest font when you click on the dreaded “agree” link when installing the latest update for a particular install.

Spyware has become such big business in fact that there are now vendors who actively market spyware removal programs. SpywareNuker is one such example, but you don’t need to pay for it!

The good news about all of this spyware is that you can remove everything for free with some specific tools at your disposal and some great guys.

There are three tools or systems that will enable you to keep your PC “clean” and “smooth” and none of them will cost you a thing!

The following are the tools I use regularly:

HijackThis - "examines certain key areas of the Registry and Hard Drive and lists their contents. These are areas which are used by both legitimate programmers and hijackers. It is continually updated to detect and remove new hijacks. Note: HijackThis does not target specific programs/URLs, just the methods used by hijackers to force you onto their sites. As a result, false positives are imminent and unless you are sure what you're doing, you should always consult with knowledgable folks (e.g. the forums) before deleting anything.”

Spybot - "Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too :)”

SpywareBlaster - “SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from ever being installed.

By setting a "kill bit" for spyware ActiveX controls, SpywareBlaster can prevent the installation of any spyware ActiveX controls from a webpage. It does this while not interfering with "friendly" ActiveX controls - so your browser can work correctly and you can have peace of mind!

You won't get any more annoying "Yes/No" boxes popped up, asking you to install a spyware ActiveX control (which can increasingly be found in pop-up ads!). In fact, Internet Explorer will never even download or run the spyware ActiveX control!

In addition, SpywareBlaster can prevent many of these spyware ActiveX controls from running, even if they are already installed on your system.*

The newest SpywareBlaster version can even block spyware/tracking cookies! And SpywareBlaster does not need to be running in the background to provide this protection!

The SpywareBlaster database contains information on these known spyware Active-X controls. Make sure you run the Check For Updates feature frequently to get the latest database! (And make sure you check the new items to protect your system against them!)

SpywareBlaster also provides the exclusive System Snapshot! - Take a snapshot of your computer in its clean state, and use System Snapshot later to revert many changes made by spyware and browser hijackers”