Chances are good that you'll get infected with spyware - approximately 9 out of every 10 Internet users will get infected. Yet free spyware removal is all the rage these days, even though free tools will never completely remove spyware from your computer and they certainly won't protect you from future infections.

Here are 3 reasons why free antispyware software isn't even worth the free price tag:

1. Free tools do not scan your computer against a spyware definitions database.

This is probably the single most important feature you should look for when deciding what spyware remover to use. This is because of the dynamic nature of spyware today - it is constantly downloading new files and applications and therefore you need robust antispyware software that scans your computer against a database which is updated frequently to protect against zero day threats. Free tools cannot allocate resources to create and maintain a database of this nature because they are, after all, free.

2. Most of the time, free spyware removers only offer you limited removal capabilities

This is nothing more than a marketing ploy that has been used for years - offer the stripped down freebie in an attempt to lure you to buy the full product. Lab tests have proven that free spyware tools only remove between 50% - 70%of spyware infections so if you come to rely only on free software, you'll be constantly fighting the spyware battle. My advice is to skip the freebies altogether and instead you can usually scan your computer for free with full spyware software versions to determine if an infection does in fact exist, and if it does you can then purchase the software which will allow you to go ahead and clean the infections.

3. Limited support

Most of the time, you get very little if any support from the manufacturer of the free spyware remover. If you are lucky, you might be able to reference an online list of FAQs or a knowledgebase, but more often you are left to try and sift through any number of spyware and virus related forums or online groups and you might find someone who can help you should you need it - but that is highly unlikely. You are much better off spending $30 to get antispyware software for which you can access a team of technical support specialists to assist you.

All things considered, if you suspect you have been infected with spyware you are ultimately facing two choices - you can rely on free spyware removal that doesn't scan against an up to date spyware definitions database, has limited removal capabilities, and doesn't offer any type of support or you can skip dinner at McDonald's for one night and get yourself a spyware remover that will completely clean your computer and will also keep your computer protected for years to come.