I've run this column occasionally over on my Deviant Art page. As a courtesy, I'm posting it here. Hopefully, it'll help.
Folks, Spyware, Adware and Malware are nasty. I've been spending a LOT of time at work cleaning that shit off of computers.
Internet Exploder, the buggy, crappy, POS web browser that comes bundled with everything Micro$oft, has so many holes, exploits and vulnerabilities that your system is constantly at risk every time you open it. Even with the release of Service Pack 2, IE is still the worst web browser you could use. I truly hate IE, but I know some of y'all out there like it.
So now, instead of venting, I'm gonna try to offer some advice:
If you don't already have one installed, get yourself some anti-virus software. You wouldn't go screwing around with someone you don't know without protection, don't let your computer go out on the Internet without the same. I recommend Symantec, even though you've gotta pay for their subscription service for virus updates. If you're cheap, there are freeware alternatives out there.
If you're starting to see your system start to run slow, or if you're getting pop-up IE windows on your system without warning, you might have some Spyware on your system. For pity's sake, download, install and run Ad-Aware and Spybot. I'll even make it easy for you and give you the download links...
Ad-Aware SE
Spybot - Search and Destroy
Follow the on-screen instructions. They're simple and easy to use. Make sure you have the latest definitions for each and run them at least once a week! You'd be amazed at some of the things running on your PC without your knowledge.
And, last but not least, please consider switching to another web browser. Mozilla is free, easy to use and not as vulnerable to attack as Internet Explorer. If you're not into it, there's always Opera and a number of other browsers out there.
And don't forget Outlook and Outlook Express are equally bug-infested. Make sure you have the latest patches for those...programs...if you insist on running them, but remember that Mozilla does have an e-mail client included in the download.
I offer this advice for free. The programs are easy to use and it won't take up too much of your pr0n-searching time, and it'll be cheaper in the long run. Some companies are charging more than $100 (US) to clean spyware-infested systems. Save your money, use those free programs, and be a little more secure while surfing the web.