Even though Vista includes its own tool for protecting against spyware, you might choose to use one of the many third party tools that are available. One such tool is Spybot-S&D. Spybot-S&D is a freeware tool that detects and removes spyware and adware from your system, and it performs this job remarkably well.
Spybot-S&D is donation-ware from Spybot-S&D. Donation-ware means that you do not have to pay for it, but that the organization does take donations to support future development. You can obtain the latest version of Spybot-S&D from the Spybot-S&D Web site. Download the installation file, currently Spybotsd15.exe, to a temporary directory on your hard drive and you are ready to install it.
To install Spybot-S&D, double-click on the self-extracting archive, and follow the prompts in the Setup Wizard. Spybot-S&D installs like every other Windows program you’ve ever used, with no confusing prompts or gotchas during the wizard. Once the installation is complete, you’re ready to start running Spybot-S&D.
To start Spybot-S&D, double-click on the desktop icon. The first action to take when Spybot-S&D runs is to check for updates by clicking the Search For Updates button. This will ensure that the spyware signatures used by Spybot-S&D, and the program itself, are up to date. If there are any updates, click the Download Updates button to download and install them.
In the next installment of this series, we will look at how to scan your computer for spyware using your newly installed Spybot-S&D program.