Once they have been installed on your system, Spyware programs constantly monitor your activities on your computer and send that private information in the background to the person who has planted that spyware on your computer. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers. They are the real threat to your online privacy and some of them have been instrumental in causing some of the greatest Internet Scams.

Anti-spyware, the Ray of Hope:

With the growing trends of E-commerce and online transactions, spyware programs are becoming the biggest online threats. And with their growth, lots of Anti-spyware programs are now available on the Internet. Many of them are free and many of them are paid.

Personally, I am not in favor of using FREE anti-spyware programs, because they do not get updated as fast as the paid software and the lack of customer support, which is very essential. Internet Security is not to be taken lightly, and spending a few bucks today on your security, might be an intelligent investment instead of repenting later.

Having said that, if you are inclined to use a FREE anti-spyware, I would recommend following Free Anti-Spyware Programs.

Best Free Anti-spyware Programs:

1. Spybot Search & Destroy: Freeware spyware removal and detction program for Windows.

2. AVG Anti-Spyware Free: Free anti-spyware program for Windows, created by GriSoft.

3. Spyware Terminator: Free anti-spyware program with real-time protection, manual and scheduled scan,
safe quarantine, automatic update, etc.

4. Spyware Detector: Scans for spyware/malware for free; spyware removal is not free though.

5. A-squared free: Removes Trojans, Worms, Keyloggers, Dialer and Spyware/Adware from your PC. The free version does not offer real-time protection.

6. SuperAntispyware: Free anti-spyware program for home use; runs on Windows.

7. Browser Hijack Retaliator: Internet Explorer protection. Prevents IE from being 'taken over' by malicious scripts and ActiveX controls.

8. Arovax AntiSpyware: Free anti-spyware program for Windows; sponsored by user forum.

9. SpywareBlaster: Free windows program which protects against spyware: prevents the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted software. blocks spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox, restricts the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer.

10. Damage Cleanup Engine: Freeware spyware removal program for Windows. Terminates malware instances in memory, removes malware entries from registry and system files, scans and deletes malware from local hard drives.