Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
Like viruses, Spyware is increasingly becoming a problem with few of us probably realising we have a problem. Spyware can be downloaded unknowingly in a cookie or by you simply just visiting a web page. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want some process running in the background on my machine reporting my surfing habits back to the owners of this evil software who can then start spamming me with marketing junk mail, know which browser I’m running (and potentially hijack it) all without my knowledge.

Not worried yet? Well how about I tell you that some of this software can change your dialup settings to use a premium rate number instead of the free/ low costs numbers most ISPs use, it can capture passwords, bank account details, credit card details, spy on your emails and more. Worried now? Well you should be but don’t loose too much sleep over it as there are numerous pieces of software out there that can counter this threat, probably the best being Spybot’s Search and Destroy.

What is it?
Winner of several awards, Spybot Search and Destroy is a tool that can scan your PC for spyware nasties, remove them and prevent your system from becoming infected again. It is easy to use with most operations requiring a single click.

Nice features include:

• With a single click you can scan your system for existing spyware
   
• Threats are split into categories so you can see which nasties need to be removed immediately to others that might not be that harmful
   
• You have complete control over which spyware the software removes as not all of it is potentially harmful
   
• You can undo any actions you take if you realise you’ve removed something you shouldn’t have
   
• You can take a backup of your Registry so if something goes awry in the future you’ve at least got a backup to go back to
   
• You can immunise your PC from attack from potentially 1,776 pieces of spyware by using the “immunise” feature which places special codes in the Registry
   
• You can protect your browser so if you visit a website and something dodgy tries to download Spybot alerts you (this is optional)
   
• You can schedule scans
   
• You can customise what scans you perform
   
• The software even includes a secure shredder facility so if there’s something on your PC (and it doesn’t have to be Spyware) that you want to be permanently removed from your machine it will be (remember that emptying your Recycle Bin doesn’t permanently delete the contents from your machine it just makes them invisible to Windows so that it can reuse the disk space if required).

How much does it cost?
Spybot is free to download and use for personal use but please think about making a donation no matter how small to help the guys that write it carry on with their excellent work.

Where can I get it?
http://spybot.safer-networking.de/index.php?page=home

Summary
All in all, Spybot tracks over 16,000 Trojans, tracking cookies, key loggers, and other little nasties waiting to infect your PC – definitely a piece of software no one should be without (although please note this type of software doesn’t replace antivirus software but should compliment it).