I made up a while back, but here's a way in general and for this site, to keep the adware/spyware stuff out of your computer and keep your computer experience running smoothly. Feel free to add any links or recommendations or questions in this thread. Or feel free to PM me.
Prevention: Spyware Blaster
It's not a scanner, but it helps prevent problems by blocking dangerous sites, preventing you from accepting those bad files, so to speak. Works with IE and Firefox. Very easy, and very valuable to add to the scanning process with ad-aware and spybot: search and destroy.
Kaspersky Warning: can't run with Macafee or Norton. Has severe problems, so if you have them, don't use this unless you uninstall them first. Anyway, it's very good. Helps keep away a lot of the crap. I have used it for a while as my activate anti-virus, spyware, adware monitor. Not free though.
Avast
Before I got Kaspersky, I used this. It's free. It never failed me and ran very nicely with my other programs. If I didn't have access to Kaspersky, I'd use this once again.
Zone Alarm
Gives you control on what can access the internet and what can access you, basically. It will stop the spyware programs from giving away information unless you allow them to. You can effectively shut them down as well, by forbidding their ability to access the internet. Good and free firewall.
Browsers: Firefox
Well, you should have heard it mentioned more than once. It's the new, up and coming browser. It's safer, and has so many ad-ones that make it very customizable. Defintely is worth checking out if you don't like the adware/spyware/popup crap. It's also a way of helping stop the crap that the scanners pick up. Works on 95% of the sites out there with ease.
Here you can find the
ad-ons , like
No Script for Firefox. Easy to install and they work right away.
Slim Browser
A good alternative to IE's platform. Has tabbed browsing and built in popup blocker. You can do similar things to firefox. Has a lot of stuff built into it as well. Very customizable. Worth checking out if you don't seem to like Firefox. Works on more sites than Firefox.
Scanners: Ad-Aware SE
One of the most popular scanners out there. Hard not to hear about it if you surf online enough. Free, easy to use and works very well. (just remember to not surf when you run it). And of course keep it up to date before you scan, so it catches everything.
Spybot: Search and Destroy
Still a great one, although Ad-Aware took over as becoming the better one once they got to SE edition(as far as free scanners go). Doesn't have as many updates, which is why Ad-Aware SE beats it, but still good to have and use, as long as you keep it up to date. Both are very easy and I'd recommend both.
Spy Sweeper
Probably my favorite, but it does cost some. However, it generally is sold at stores and has mail in rebates which make it free. Yes, the program updates die, but the defintions you can update even if your yearly subscription ends. I have an old version but i keep the definitions up to date. I use it with Ad-Aware SE and I eliminate everything. It's just really good and thorough. Takes a while, because it's thorough, but it does the job. But that's why you use moe than one scanner.
Linear Mode
