Defending Against Spyware and Malware

Spyware has become the largest annoyance on Windows for the last few years. Often hidden in downloads that appear innocent, these programs can spy on your computer activities and report home various information about your computer habits. Adware is another menace that is closely related to spyware. Just as with spyware, it can be secretly installed on your computer and will monitor what you do. Then, when the time is right, it will display relevant advertisements. Did you ever visit  and then notice an advertisement for , one of eBay's competitors, pop up on your screen? If so, then you are infected with adware.

Your computer can become infected in a number of ways. The most common is by visiting a web site and downloading a free game, emoticons for an instant messenger, or a browser utility such as a search toolbar. Often these utilities are spyware themselves and are also bundled with other spyware and adware.

Unfortunately, users never seem to read the terms of service agreements that are presented when they install these free apps on their computer, and pass right over the notices that this software will display ads and will monitor your browsing habits.

In Windows 7 it is getting much more difficult for outsiders to install software on your computer that you don't want because of User Account Control. If something is installed, it is because you authorized it when you clicked Allow in the UAC authorization box. What do you do if you made a mistake? The next section shows you how to use the new anti-spyware and anti-malware application called Windows Defender to protect your computer and clean it of any spyware threats.

Using Windows Defender

Windows Defender is very effective at scanning your computer for spyware. By default, Windows Defender is configured to scan your computer once a day in the early hours in the morning. If you ever notice something strange happening to your computer and suspect spyware, you can perform the following steps to do a full system scan with Windows Defender:

1. Click the Start button, type Windows Defender in the Search box, and then press Enter.

2. After Windows Defender loads, click the down arrow next to the Scan button and select Full scan

3. When the scan is finished, the results are shown. If any spyware is found, click Review Items detected by scanning to find out exactly what was found.

4. On the Scan Results screen, all the malicious software detected by Windows Defender is shown, along with details on what each application is. Click the Remove All button