Spyware is a irritant of the 21st Century; less malicious than viruses, but also more difficult to eradicate without abandoning web browsing altogether. Spyware arrives on your PC while you browse the web and can take many forms, from the relatively innocuous "tracking cookies" (which mark you with a list of sites you've visited) to the more sinister "key loggers" (programs which log your every keystroke and attempt to pass on credit card details and passwords). However, something that all spyware has in common is that, to a greater or lesser extent, it compromises your privacy and slows your machine down, which is sufficient reason to evict it from your home. That, and it's fun to fight back.

If your machine only runs Linux, the good news is that you have less to worry about than users of Microsoft Windows. This isn't necessarily because Linux is more secure, but simply because there are so many variants (distributions, or "distros" as they are known) of it, so they form a difficult target for malware creators.

If you are running an operating system older than Windows 2000, upgrade to a newer version now! Windows 95, 98, Me and NT were created in a more innocent age and simply aren't tooled up for the rigors of today's web. Users of Windows 2000, XP and Vista are not only inherently better-protected, but will be able to download Microsoft's own Malicious Software Removal Tool along with their system updates from the second Tuesday of each month. This program is no substitute for antivirus or anti-spyware tools, but it does no harm either.

Two more serious pieces of ammunition no PC should be without are Ad-Aware (see http://www.lavasoft.com/produc ts/ad_aware_free.php) and Spybot Search & Destroy (see http://www.safer-networking.or g) both of which are free for personal use. Opinions vary as to which of these is superior but, if you install both on your machine, and run them regularly, between them they will handle or prevent most spyware infestations. In addition, Spybot can maintain a constant watch on activities on your machine so, even if you don't run a tight ship, you get some measure of protection.

However, as in all conflicts with malicious code, your best weapon is common sense. So if you get sent spam, delete it and don't click those links it's likely something devious will be waiting on the other side. Use a modern browser: for example Mozilla Firefox 2 (version 3 is expected in June 2008) or Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, both of which are free and will often warn you if something suspicious is going on.

Finally, if you are particularly worried about privacy, an extra measure you can take is to restrict the use of cookies by your browser. In an ideal world, cookies work for you by allowing your PC to "remember" details of websites you visit so that you are automatically welcomed back and logged in when you return to them. In the real world, some cookies are used to track your movements for marketing (or perhaps other, more covert) purposes. Each browser will have its own way of dealing with these; in Internet Explorer 7, the method is to click on the Tools menu, select Internet Options and choose the Privacy tab. There you will find a friendly slider control which you can use to limit sites' freedom to read and write cookies on your machine. If you're uncertain, set it to Medium, and bear in mind that the higher it goes, the safer you may be, but the more functionality you may lose.

Learn more about this author, Lawrence Mcilhoney.
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