With adware and spyware reeking havoc on millions of computers every day you can never have enough protection against all the threats that spring up daily. With more than 23 million Americans affected by identity theft over the last 5 years there’s a big concern amongst about this new trend in online crime.

In the past, hackers concentrated their efforts in going after big cash like banks and big corporate institutions. Today, hackers realized that going after individuals is much easier and much more profitable and the chances of being caught is slim to none.

If you are a lightweight internet user that only surf big and credible websites you are relatively safe. Your biggest spyware threats will probably come from unsolicited emails that might contain spyware attachments. However, if you are a heavyweight internet surfer that sometimes ventures into “boarderline dodgy” websites your risk level increases exponentially.

Download sites, Torrent sites and lots of so-called “free” software and game sites are teeming with spyware and because the lures of getting things for free can sometimes blind us to the real dangers.

Removing spyware is not such a big deal. There are lots of spyware removal software available online. Finding the best one for your needs can be a challenge though. There’s just too many choices and knowing which one is perfect for your needs can be quite a challenge.

I would suggest that you stay away from the two “big guns” namely Norton and MacAfee. Although they are quite good at eliminating spyware, they are way overpriced and they both have a really heavy footprint – meaning it uses a lot of your computer’s resources and will slow your computer down. These 2 are probably better used in an office environment where you have several PC’s on a network. It gives you a lot of flexibility and control in a network environment and you can probably justify spending the money if it’s for a commercial use.

For home use I would recommend something much simpler. Effective spyware protection for a home PC comes in at about $20 to $50 and this buys you both the spyware removal software AND lifetime updates. The updates are really important because in reality your anti spyware is only as good as your last update.

You might want to refer to my reviews and test of the different adware and spyware software to help you find the best one for your need. The 3 most important things you want to look out for is

1. Real time protection
2. Small footprint – something that uses minimal resources (allows your computer to run faster)
3. Regular updates (make sure you don’t have to pay a subscription fee)
4. Scheduling and automatic updates and scans – this allows your anti spyware to run on complete autopilot
5. Good track record – be careful with new software  because you will rely on regular updates and if the company folds you will be left with a useless piece of software and you will once again be exposed to spyware.