With the coming of Sony’s RootKit, spyware made the transition from an after thought to something on everybody’s mind. In fact, spyware has been around for quite some time, perhaps nearly as long as the Internet itself.

It’s no surprise that we all come under attack from spyware from to time. Generally, I keep my pcs as cleans as I can, but just occasionally I download something that has spyware in it. The most persistent must be the GET toolbar. It was installed along with another program that came with my Windows 98SE PC, and I have been unable to get rid of it! The entry sits in the Add/Remove Software, begging to be clicked. So I click, and it says Uninstalled. I’ve run quite a few different spyware programs to find out what it is, and how to get rid of it. None of them have been able to get rid of the entry.

There’s still one hope:Spy Sweeper. Developed by Webroot Software, it will scan your pc for suspicious objects. With a database of over 150,000 items, it should find pretty much everything. It also scans your hard disk with your programs and data, the memory, the registry, cookies and whatever else you might need. It will also monitor any programs that you are running or that start without your knowledge!

Given that users running Windows in any form are much more vulnerable to these kinds of e-pests, running some kind of anti-spyware solution is essential. Spy Sweeper recently words some cool awards for its software, too.

PCWorld gave it a “Best Buy Rating” last year as it was ahead of its peers in the Paid Category, and way ahead of its peers in the Free Standalone category. While it’s not free, you can try out a ‘free scan’ in their downloads section. This will give you a good taste!