[edchambers]

Please don't waste your money paying for either one of them there is so much good anti spyware stuff available for free.A combination of the following will do a fine job of keeping your computer spyware free;Spybot Search an Destroy,Spyware Blaster,Adaware, even Micrsofts anti spyware beta works great if you have XP and is free as well.Just do some google search's for the above mentioned, download,install and your in buisiness.Yahoo toolbar also has a spyware removal tool but so far it hasn't found anything the others didn't already catch.You can also clean your registry with CCleaner, also free, and it will help keep these things from comming back.

[decal]

SpywareBlaster has pretty much made Spybot unnecessary (at least on mine; Spybot hasn't found anything on mine in weeks).

You might also give X-RayPC a shot - it works like HijackThis but in real time, no need to have someone look at it.

http://www.x-raypc.com/

[octobersky]

Good advice. As for Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta, I've had it on my system for 3½ weeks and it has found no spyware in the 3 scans I've run. Same goes for the others. I guess SpywareBlaster and regular cookie tossing is doing the trick.

[pulmonq2]

You're wrong, just as I found I was wrong to think that Adaware, Spybot S&D, and Microsoft's Spyware beta would be able to clean any spyware out.

I had a major infection (my fault for being careless) a couple nights ago, and neither of those programs detected a single one of the trojan downloaders, spyware, or adware programs. Worthless.

Throw out your Spybot, Adaware, and MS Spyware. They are not at all effective against today's serious threats.

The only program that really wiped everything out once and for all was the Spyware Doctor. Spy Sweeper too was effective -- though I didn't get a subscription to remove the baddies, Spy Sweeper's active monitor stopped the hijacker programs and adware in their tracks when they tried to re-install / re-run themselves. Then I got the Doctor running, and it took care of business.

I would suggest trying Javacool Software's free programs, SpywareGuard and the SpywareBlaster you already mentioned (both, since they work as a team).

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/products.html

Though, I will say, I didn't get to see them in action, as Spy Sweeper was already installed and had the malware under control.

You may also try AVG's Anti Spyware 7.5

Though not as good as Spy Sweeper or the Doctor, it is probably one of your best bets for a free scanner... sinec it is actually effective, in contrast with the usual recommendations of Adaware and Spybot. Anyway, I had it up first, and it was catching several bad files, but couldn't detect everything.

Another one that might be very good is SUPER Anti Spyware,though again, it was installed along with the Doc and Sweeper, and really didn't have a chance to work.

My current line-up is the Spyware Doctor, Spyware Guard/Blaster, AVG, and it's twin, AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5.

So far, no trace of any malware has appeared... not so much as a single pop-up.