After a scanning process which seemed to be taking forever, as my computer contained almost one million files, I was announced that I need to pay a certain anout of money to get my PC cleaned.

They were not asking for too much money. I don’t remember the exact amount, but it was something like $25 or $35. I was thinking to buy that software and get my computer running normally again, when I thought I’d better search on Google to see who are those guys, before paying them.

I was glad I did so. This is how I found out that it was only a tricks meant to get money out of my pocket, and that in fact my computer had nothing harmful inside. That scanning software was just pretending to fing viruses and malware, only to scare me and make me pay.

In two hours or so, after trying several solutions found online, I was able to get that program removed.

If such things happen, then most probably your computer got infected with some kind of spyware, malware or virus which makes it function abnormally. However, you can still find a solution to make your computer like new again: there is software which cleans up the computer by either fixing, deleting or putting in quarantine the infected files.

Not all these programs are free, but some of them are really cheap and they can get you out of trouble. Like this suite, Fix-It Utilities 8, which is less than $50 and it comes with lots of benefits, such as

• 3-User License
• One-Step Maintenance
• Anti-Virus Protection
• Spyware Removal
• Optimize System Performance

So, you’ll have three computers guarded and secured, and the fact that you’ll be able to optimize the system performance will allow you to work faster, thus getting more productive and saving more time to spend it with your friends or family.
Fix-It Utilities 8 has a trial version which is free, so you may not even need to pay the $50, if this trial version would help you fix your current issues.
However, if you tried it and you are pleased with the results, why not getting permanent protection for your computer?
Your time is worth more than $49.95, don’t you think so?

Why then would you be concerned of what a computer does in order to allow you write a letter?
This is why hunting for spyware can be a very difficult task, because it implies following instructions with as many as 10-15 steps. Each of these steps consists of installing something, or modifying files, or executing strange lines of code, so mistakes are very easy to make.

But you don’t need to panic, even if you don’t know anything about computers. Search the net for spyware removal solutions, indicating the name of the spyware program you’ve got infected with. Usually, those programs state their names and authors, so searching for solutions would be easy.

Print out the pages with the solutions you’ve found, and then follow them step by step, writing down at each step what you have done.

If you are lucky, you’ll manage to get rid of the nasty spyware by yourself. If not, the worst case scenario would be reinstalling all software in your computer, case in which, if you don’t know anything, you’d need a specialist to do it for you.

Nowadays, things have changed a little bit: why not download and use a free software and accept to see some ads brought to me via an adware which is installed with that software? Would it be better to pay hundreds of dollars to use that program when I can have it for free?

The problem is like this: if the adware isn’t harmful, and it really doesn’t interfere with my work in any other way than making me see a few ads when I launch the software, then I don’t see any reason why I should get rid of it and keep my computer clean.

However, if it is a spyware which steals data from my computer, then I might be afraid to let it stay, because I wouldn’t like my banking details to get into the hands of a thief.

The same reasoning goes for cases in which the spyware makes my system go sluggish and much slower than normal. I wouldn’t want to spend one day doing a task that would normally take me one hour.

It’s always about the balance between drawbacks and benefits and see which option would work best for each specific case. If you have enough money, maybe it would be best to buy all the software you need, so you will be able to keep your computer clean of adware and spyware. Nevertheless, even if you buy everything, you are still vulnerable, so in any case, an antivirus solution provided with spyware and adware blocker would be ideal. In case of a server, you can try Antivirus for server 2008 in order to protect it.

Most of the times, adware is voluntarily installed by the computer owner himself: there are software companies which deliver a free version of some programs, for everybody to download and use, but bundled with adware. Each time the program is launched, the user sees a commercial message. This is the price to pay if you want to use software without paying real money for it.

If you want to keep your computer clean from adware and spyware, the best method is not to connect it to the internet at all. As this is less probable to happen, at least you can avoid installing any freebies you find on various sites, and use only software coming from trusted places and sources.

But what is spyware? This term defines those computer programs which we are not aware of, which sneak in our computers with the occasion of other installs, or web browsing. Once installed, spyware collects data and sends it to the initiator of the attack.

The effects of spyware on a computer can vary from nothing significant or noticeable, to popup windows, alert messages, slowing down, or even malfunctioning.

For instance, I’ve got once a spyware program which took control over my PC, and which was shutting it down every 5 minutes. You can imagine I was going nuts, because I was not able to work anymore.

Getting rid of spyware can be a real challenge and it often requires deep computer knowledge, like modifying the registries or other operating system files.