HELP!!! FOR THE COMPUTER ILLITERATE RANCHWIFE!!

[ranchwife]

What in the name of god is "spyware" and how do i get rid of it without going completely insane :? :? !!!??? i purchased "Alertspy" lastnight, downloaded it and still am not getting anywhere :x ? Not really sure where to turn and hoping that some of my more computer savvy compadres on ranchers can help me out!! e-mail or pm if necessary and i am running on a short fuse here
thank you all for your help and for answering my SOS

kris

 

[SASH]

Try downloading 'Adaware SE' and 'Spybot Search + Destroy'. That's what the local computer store told me. They said between the two that they were better than anything you could buy. Good Luck.

 

[Haytrucker]

Spyware is simply little buggers that attach to something in your computer when you browse the net. You may go to several sites without any, and one site may implant several. I think they are technically called tracking cookies, literally used to spy on your habits to tailor junk e-mail for you.
I use Ad-aware which I downloaded, if I remember right, for free, and it wasn't to difficult to use( or I couldn't)! We try to run the program every two or three weeks, and after you quarantine the little spies, your computer should speed up some. I selected Ad-aware on the advice of two people much more knowledgable than myself.