Removing spyware from Windows

Senthil Kumar wants to remove any spyware that might be on his Dell laptop
Who is spying on your computer? Photograph: Roger Tooth for the Guardian Roger Tooth/Guardian

Can you please recommend any good, reliable spyware removal software? My preference is for a freeware if possible. I have a Dell D510 laptop, which is four years old.
Senthil S Kumar

Anti-spyware programs are now going out of fashion because traditional anti-virus software increasingly targets spyware as well. The shift started when spyware changed from being old-style advertising pop-ups and tracking cookies and began to encompass keyloggers, Trojans and other serious types of malware. The turning point was marked by AVG buying the company behind Ewido Anti-Spyware and incorporating it into AVG8.

However, there are still a number of powerful programs that you can run to check your PC for spyware, including SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (MBAM).

SuperAntiSpyware is a free program that targets a wide range of spyware including fake anti-virus software, worms and rootkits. There's also a Professional Edition for $29.95. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a full anti-virus program that may well find spyware your usual anti-virus software has missed. You have to run it manually unless you upgrade to the paid-for version.

Microsoft's Windows Defender is another free anti-spyware program. It began life as Giant Anti-Spyware, but Microsoft bought the company. It's usually a bad idea to run more than one anti-virus program at a time, but both Windows Defender and SuperAntiSpyware seem to co-exist happily with full AV programs, including Microsoft Security Essentials. A commercial option is Webroot's SpySweeper.

To make sure your PC is clean, run SuperAntiSpyware before running Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, because it may remove some infections that stop MBAM from running. When you run MBAM, select Perform Quick Scan and then click Scan. (Don't run a full scan.) When it has finished, click OK, then Show Results. Check to select everything and then click Remove Selected. After MBAM has finished, restart your PC and run your usual anti-virus software. If it finds and removes some more malware, repeat the whole process.

The Spyware Info Forum has more detailed advice on How to run a scan with Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.

If you have reason to suspect that your PC has picked up a particular piece of malware, try searching for specific ways to remove it. Popular help forums such as Bleeping Computer, Major Geeks, Geeks To Go, Tech Support Forum, the Spyware Info Forum and many more all have routines that use small targeted utilities and will walk you through the process. The Malwarebytes forum also has help instructions for dealing with many specific threats in its Malware Removal Guides and Self Help Guides section.

It's worth putting some effort into malware removal, because it's no longer very visible or the result of kids messing about. Today, malware is developed by a large, professionally-run criminal industry, and its success depends on staying hidden.