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Step 1
Take inventory of unusual behavior taking place on your computer and Internet usage. Decide if you are experiencing an unusual number of pop-ups or pop-ups taking place when you are not online. These are key indicators that you may have spyware installed on your computer. Other indicators include flickers on your computer screen, very sluggish response performing tasks that were fine in the past and mysterious changes to your settings that you know you didn't make.
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Step 2
Find a reputable spyware checking program. You can check with sites like Spyware Warrior before deciding on which program to download and use (see Resources below). This site catalogs programs for this purpose and keeps track of which ones are actually spyware masquerading as helpful programs. Download the program and run the scan of your computer. It will tell you if you have spyware on your computer.
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Step 3
Download a prevention program that will prevent spyware from infecting your computer. Spybot-Search and Destroy is a very useful and reliable prevention program. You also need to remove any spyware found on your computer. Many of the programs that will check for spyware are also able to remove it for you.
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Step 4
Practice safer Internet habits that will reduce the risk of infection. Run with a firewall installed on your machine. Don't download files from questionable sites. Check out the programs on your favorite search engine to see if anyone has reported it to contain spyware. Consider switching to another browser other than Internet Explorer by Microsoft. Try Firefox or Mozilla. IE seems to be the favorite target of many of the spyware manufacturers.
