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• You see too much pop-up advertisements.
• Your browser has toolbars that you haven't installed.
• Your homepage has changed (and you can't change it back).
• Other settings have changed without your permission.
• Your computer is slow.

• All software used is free.
• Our tests show this works in 92% of spyware/Malware problems.
• Multiple spyware/malware busting programs need to be used to cure your computer of a spyware problem with this certainty.
• All spyware programs must be fully updated.
• Scans must be done in safe mode to be fully effective.
• Best to disable system restore, and use disc clean-up to speed up subsequent scans.
• Deleting spyware programs can cause program instability (especially with shareware programs that come with spyware).

Step 1: Download free software

Start by downloading Ad-Aware, AVG free, Spy-bot search and destroy, Malwarebyte’s Anti-Malware, and Windows Defender (Vista and XP SP2 users may have this already).

http://www.lavasoft.com – Ad-Aware
http://free.avg.com - AVG free
http://www.safer-networking.org – Spy-bot search and destroy
http://www.malwarebytes.org – Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
http://www.microsoft.com – Windows Defender

Step 2: Check add/remove, as well as switching off system restore, and run disc clean-up.

In the Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, comb through your installed software list. See anything you don't recognize or need? Uninstall it. If there is anything starting up automatically with Windows, remove it also. To do so, from the Start menu choose "Run," and type msconfig. Review all the programs set to start and uncheck any you don't want.

How two switch off system restore in XP:

· Click Start.

· Right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.

· Click the System Restore tab.

· Check "Turn off System Restore" or "Turn off System Restore on all drives."

· Click Apply.

· When turning off System Restore, the existing restore points will be deleted. Click Yes to do this.

· Click OK

For Windows Vista:

· Open System by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking System.

· In the left pane, click System Protection. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

· To turn on System Protection for a hard disk, select the check box next to the disk, and then click OK.

Step 3: Run a disk clean-up

This actually comes with Windows. You can find it by clicking the Start Button and then going to Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Clean-up. We recommend selecting all of its options except the ones for Office Setup Files and Compress Old Files if you have them. While you may select those if you wish, they aren't as important. This will clean up all of the temporary files so your testing will go faster, and may also delete any spyware that may hiding there (if the spyware isn't already running).

Step 4: Install and update the anti-spyware/malware programs downloaded earlier.

After installing them keep clicking update till you get confirmation it cannot be updated any further.

Now everything is installed and updated, restart your computer and hit the F8 key while it is booting up. This can usually be done after the initial “splash screen”. Then select “safe mode” and press enter. If done too soon you will get the message “keyboard error”. In this case try again and wait longer till you start pressing F8Choose to start the computer in "Safe Mode." You might need to wait 10 seconds or more till you can press “F8”.

With the computer now running in safe mode, run scans with the above programs one by one. You will notice some programs will find spyware that others have missed. Delete or quarantine the identified files. Keep running through all the programs till you are done. When finished restart the computer and test it out. The above procedure works in 92% of cases. Failing that you need to re format the hard drive and reinstall everything (which works 100% of the time !).