Expert: Carolyn Meinel - 6/20/2004

Question
Hello, i was wandering with this new threat of spyware and the many different types of products for this if installed on my computer with xp home, and norton antivirus if the installation of an anti-spyware is crucial and if so what is good?  and does it have any drawbacks?  
thank you
Marc

Answer
You need anti-spyware programs because antivirus programs won't remove them. This is because usually the victim accidentally consents to intalling them when clicking on a user license while installing some sort of software. In some cases spyware comes already installed on a computer. For example, my HP laptop came with HP spyware to tell them how I was using it. I was sure shocked when I ran Ad-aware and discovered this!

For instant free help, try Ad-aware,
http://lavasoft.element5.com/software/adaware and Spybot, http://www.safer-networking.org You can use one or both together, they are compatible. They will let you choose which spyware or adware you might want to continue running or reactivate,  as some free programs stop working when you remove the spyware.