You can be a Spyware Remover!

How does one go about doing a free spyware removal?

I suggest the Ad-aware adware spyware removal tool, which is an excellent free spyware removal software. Spybot Search & Destroy is another very good free spyware removal software, which will also monitor your Windows computer’s registry for changes and alert you to these.

Most people don’t want to suffer with slow Internet connections, crashing computers, computer freezes, or any of the other wonderous things that happen to Windows computers running Internet Explorer when connected to the Internet these days.

Nor do most of these same users want to pay for the service of removing these same buggers. After all, they didn’t knowingly pay to get a computer that allows itself to get corrupted so easily as Windows does with all the spyware out there - but that’s another soap-box session.

Note that these instruction are based from my experience with spyware - if you don’t agree with the instructions, remember that I’m not running your computer or clicking your mouse, and that you are not paying me for advice.

Ok, on to the meat of this article - how to get rid of spyware from your Windows computer.

Follow these steps and you should be back up and running in very little time.
1) I suggest you get a download of the Ad-aware installation file burned onto a CD from a friend. He can get it by following the download instructions here at Lavasoft’s web site.

2) Boot your computer, and BEFORE you see the Windows graphic startup screen, start hitting the F8 key - every second will be fine. You will get a text menu. If you don’t, reboot and try again until you time it right and get the menu. Using your arrows keys on your keyboard, highlight “Safe mode with Network support” and hit Enter. Windows will boot, give you messages about running in Safe Mode, and look quite ugly - answer Yes or Ok to the messages and don’t look at your wallpaper.

3) Put in the CD with the Ad-aware install file.

4) Connect to the Internet, or make sure you already are.

5) Open ‘My Computer’ from either the desktop or from the Start button by clicking or double-clicking on it, open the the CD the same way, then click or double-click on the installation file.

6) Answer Yes, or Ok to the prompts and shortly you will also need to say Yes to the update and the scan of your computer to actually get rid of your spyware.

7) Let Ad-aware do it’s scan, when done it will tell you - go have some coffee and crumb cake.

8) Back already? Impatient aren’t you? (Don’t blame you actually.)

9) When done, Ad-aware will emit a noise and flash a bug in the lower left side of it’s window. Click the ‘Next’ button on the lower right.

10) In this screen you will see a list of all the adware and spyware programs that are messing up your computer. Right-click anywhere _ON THE ITEMS IN THIS LIST_. Click ‘Select all’ and click ‘Next’.

11) Let Ad-aware delete all the adware and spyware that it found and then restart your computer.

12) Open Internet Explorer and go to http://mozilla.org or http://opera.com/. Download either the Firefox or Opera web browser install file, and NOTE WHERE IT DOWNLOADS TO.

13) Open ‘My Computer’ from either the desktop or from the Start button by clicking or double-clicking on it, and follow whatever path you need to get to where the above browser install file downloaded to and click or double-click on it.

14) Follow the installation prompts by clicking Yes or Ok when needed to install the browser. When asked if you want to import data from Internet Explorer, click ‘Don’t import anything’ and continue the installation and then click Yes to allow Firefox or Opera to be your default browser.

15) Re-boot your computer normally.

16) Go above to Step 1 after your computer reboots in Normal mode and re-run through to step 11.

17) Unless absolutely neccesary, DO NOT use Internet Explorer to browse the Internet. Instead, use a browser that generally does not allow such stupidity - and either Firefox or Opera are excellent choices.

NOTES:
It is always better to have more than one spyware removal software that you regularly _UPDATE_ and run on your computer.

I know that Ad-aware can be run in Safe Mode on Windows XP - I do not know if any other spyware software can.

If you need help getting rid of exceptionally pesky Ad- or Spyware, you can read about Los Angeles Computerhelp’s repair services here.