Like any other form of communication there are people who try to use it to make money. Sometimes that is harmless., such as advertising in newspapers and on television. The Internet has spawned an entire new form of communication profiteering- Adware and Spyware.

    Adware places ads in various places on your computer. To do that, a program is located on your computer that downloads them from a central website. Some of it is installed with software you give permission to be on your computer, and that isn't always a bad thing. For example, the free version of Eudora uses ads to remain free, and so it has an adware application that posts these ads to the Eudora interface. Some of these adware programs will watch your Internet activity and posts ads based on presumed preferences based on that activity. In this case, it would be referred to as "Opt-In Adware" because you are told that this is part of the Eudora program during the installation and have the opportunity to refuse it (and not install Eudora).

    Spyware, on the other hand, can be far more insidious. Spyware watches what you do on your computer and sends the information back to a central location where it is used to sell ads and such. his information can be anonymous or can be specifically identified as coming from you. In In some cases, like the above-named example, it can be installed as part of another program. In its other extreme form it can watch every thing that goes n in your computer, including your key strokes entering banking information, all the E-Mail and password information on your computer, and then send those away without your knowledge.

    Do you have Spyware or Adware on your computer? What is it doing? How did it get there? Should you keep it or leave it? All good questions. A good start at answering those questions can be found with these two applications-

    Spybot Search and Destroy is an excellent application and like nearly all the applications I recommend, it is FREE!

    It basically works the same way as your virus programs full scan. It searches through your computer's hard drive and memory areas looking for known Adware and Spyware and than gives you the opportunity to remove it.

    After downloading and installing, the first thing to do (and at the beginning of every new scanning session) is to check for updates. New spyware comes along all the time and the updated files are important, just like they are for your anti-virus application.

    Once updated, just click on the "Search and Destroy" icon button in the interface, then click on "Check for problems" and Spybot goes to work.

    A list of suspected entries will appear (as shown in this short list above) and you will have the opportunity to choose which you wish to remove. Be aware that there are instances where removing items from your computer may cause some applications that depend on the spyware (probably adware) to stop working. In that case, Spybot does have a built-in way to reinstate those things that your removed as well as it backs up XP's registry entries that are removed so that it can use that as a restore point.

    Because of the myriad of things that can be found by Spybot it is impossible for me to go into detail about which found objects you should remove and which you shouldn't. Fortunately, Spybot has an excellent help file and tutorial in the "Help" tab in the programs interface. I highly suggest sitting down with a cool drink (or good cup of coffee) and carefully read those. It is an educational process and it will help you get more out of Spybot.

    AdAware SE from Lavasoft is a program similar to Spybot Search and Destroy. It searches out Adware and Spyware of all sorts and allows you to choose which to remove. AdAware features an excellent help file with plenty of basic instruction and lots of sample illustrations which should make understanding and using this application easy for anyone wishing to take the time to read through it. The help file even has a section on "How to Download" AdAware!.

    When it does find some suspicious entries in the registry or on your computers hard drive, it presents them in a list as shown above. There is also a tab to show "Negligible Objects" that, while not a direct threat to your security, can compromise your privacy by keeping lists of files you have opened and songs you have listened to among other things. But there will be a lot of entries that are unintelligible. What are they? RIGHT click on any entry and choose "Object Details" from the pop-up menu. A pop-up window will give you a brief explanation as to what the entry is and its dangers:

    Still not sure. In that window is an link that takes you to a page on the Llavasoft website that describes this level of threat in more detail.

    How do you know what to remove and what to leave? Investigate as stated above. If you do remove something that is needed by an application (sudeenly a program stops working) you can go back to the AdAware interface and open the Quarantine manager where you can reinstall any previously removed items.

    The basic version of AdAware SE is free and fully scans the computer. For a registration fee of about $27, AdAware SE Plus http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adawareplus/ adds a number of additional features. The most compelling of which is real-time active scanning of your computer that can stop and prevent the spyware from being installed in the first place. Updates or upgrades of the registered version are free of charge for the year following purchase. On each anniversary the initial purchase, renewal costs 35% of the full retail price. They offer a 50% discount on purchases and a 10% discount on the yearly Maintenance and support fee for Governmental, Educational, and Non-Profit Institutions.

    So why have two such applications? Because of the nature of Spyware, if you have two programs to search it out on your computer, one can find things the other may miss. Yes, it is a bit like wearing a belt and suspenders, but at least your computer's pants won't ever fall down!