At any one time, there are an estimated 900,000 pieces of malware, also known as spyware, lurking on the Internet, just waiting to infect your computer. In response to the large number of spyware programs that have taken over computers, a small industry has formed, dealing specifically with antispyware software.  Running antispyware programs has become a widely used practice for almost everyone who uses a computer.

As the threat of spyware has worsened, a number of techniques have emerged to counteract it; some of which include antispyware programs.  Many programmers, and a number of commercial firms, have come out with antispyware software, designed to remove or block spyware. Some antispyware products are free, and some are fee based; either way, you should definitely invest in some.

Antispyware programs can fight against spyware in two different ways, by providing realtime protection against the installation of spyware software on your computer, and detecting spyware that has already been installed on your computer.  The end result is much the same, they just operate on different time frames.

Real time antispyware works exactly the same way that anti-virus software protects you.  It scans all incoming network data for spyware software and blocks any threats that it comes in contact with. In some cases, it may also block attempts to install items that will run at start-up, or that will modify your browser settings.

Antispyware that is designed to detect spyware already installed on your computer is much easier to use.  You can schedule it to scan your computer as often or as infrequently as you want it to. once it’s been scanned, the software will provide you with a report of what was found in the Windows registry, operating system files and installed programs on your computer. Whatever you would like to delete, you can.

When shopping for antispyware software, you must be aware that there are companies out there that are not reputable and will actually embed spyware within their programs; the result is that you end up in worse shape than when you started.  It is important to research antispyware programs before you download them on your computer.  Check to see what other people have to say about them.

Some important factors to look for, in addition to the company being on the up and up, is ease of use. You want to use a program that has a user interface that is clear and concise.  You may choose to use a fee-based program and supplement that with a free version of another company’s.  One antispyware program will never catch every single threat; as stated above, at any one time, there are almost 1 million threats out there – that’s a lot for any one program to keep an eye on.
When you are confident that you’ve found a reputable antispyware company, take the plunge and run a scan — you may be startled at your findings.

Rest assured, with antispyware programs getting better by the day, the impact of spyware is getting less and less.  Be careful of what you opt in to anytime a website asks you to download something and be careful of which ‘free’ software you take advantage of.  Those cautions, combined with a good antispyware program, will go a long way to keeping your machine trouble free.