Spyware is still a very big threat to your system, whether it is at your office, or at home. This annoyance has become more stealthy, and more difficult to remove. The best thing is to not get it on your system in the first place.
Many times, the user unwittingly installs spyware, because they think they are doing just the opposite. A window pops up, warning you that you are infected, and offering a link to install software to clean your system. If you click on the link, what you are actually doing is installing the spyware.
Best practices to use to avoid this are to never click on a link in an unsolicited email, or an unexpected pop up window in your web browser. These are two of the most common methods used to get you to install spyware. The second method (the popup) has become very popular with spyware bullies. The window that suddenly pops up usually warns that you are already infected, thus trying to panic you into trying to "fix" the problem.
Signs that you do have spyware already are that your system suddenly slows down, or acts differently. Any changes to your web browser, such as the home page changing, new toolbars, your default search engine changes, or you are getting large numbers of pop-up windows. If any of these occur, you should immediately do a spyware scan of your system, and a virus scan, immediately.
See our Malware Resources page for more suggestions.
Dave.