ughaibu:

1 Read the End User Licensing Agreement before installing software.
Often, users blindly click on the 'I accept' button when installing software, without reading the end user licensing agreement.
Doing so will cause you to miss shady clauses like 'third-party software may be installed with this application'.
The end result? You just gave permission for spyware bundled with the application to come on board your computer.
2 Scan your PC regularly with anti-spyware software
Anti-virus companies like McAfee, Symantec and Trend Micro have incorporated anti-spyware tools within their security suites.
There are also other free and excellent anti-spyware tools available on the Internet for home use. These include:
• Lavasoft's Ad-aware: www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
• Spybot Search and Destroy: www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
• Hijack This: http://hijack-this.net
Some spyware programs are extremely resilient to removal and you may have to try more than one program before they can be removed.
The reason for this is that these spyware programs are designed that way, and 'hook' into your computer at many places.
Another reason for this is that new spyware variants come out so quickly that the anti-spyware industry has to scramble to keep up.
This means you should update your anti-virus/anti-spyware programs with the latest version whenever possible. If you have any problems, consult your security vendor or read the computer forums.
3 Update your computer with the latest patches
For Windows, if you have not turned Windows Update on, go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and patch your system. You can choose not to download and patch everything, but you should at least install all critical patches.
4 Change your browser
Many malicious programs on the Internet currently target Internet Explorer. Switch to another browser, and many of your problems will disappear. Firefox and Mozilla (available at www.mozilla.org) are excellent free open source browsers.
Even if your IE browser has been infected, you can still use your alternative browser to surf the Internet for a solution.
5 Install a personal firewall
A firewall program is indispensable to security. A personal firewall won't keep your browser from being hijacked, but a well-configured one can prevent all sorts of other nastiness, like your passwords being reported back to a hacker via a spyware keylogging program. You can choose from many varied firewalls, from the windows firewall in Windows XP Service Pack 2, or from the various security vendors.
There are also free firewalls you can download from the Internet, such as ZoneAlarm (www.zonealarm.com), Sygate (http://smb.sygate.com) or Kerio (www.kerio.com).