Spyware and adware programs, currently rampaging all over the web, are perhaps the biggest single threat to the ordinary computer users security. Far more common than the oft-talked about and feared computer virus, almost anyone and everyone who surfs the net has been infected at some point with spyware and adware programs.

Why is that a problem? After all, they usually run in the background, and can at least on the surface seem to be fairly non-intrusive.

Well, thats the point, really. They run in the background because in almost all cases the creator of the program doesnt want you to know that it is there. And why is that?

Well, these programs are not called spyware and adware for nothing. Spyware spies on you (duh!) and adware is designed to plant unwanted advertising on your machine.

Between them, the net effect of these programs can be absolutely devastating. Your computer slows down to an impossibly slow rate but thats very probably the least of your problems. Your internet browser gets hijacked (taking you to all sorts of sites that you did not want to visit) and theres dozens of those stunningly annoying pop-ups, well, popping up!

Again, inconvenient and annoying, but not the end of the world.

Far more dangerous is the fact that spyware programs are basically created to steal information from your computer. For example, information such as your secret passwords can be copied, and used to access your most sensitive or confidential data.

When it comes to detecting spyware, and the ridding your machine of it, you will generally need a specialized software program to do the job, of which there are both free and paid for versions available.

The general consensus of opinion seems to be that the best anti-spyware strategy is to use both free software (such as the excellent Spybot S&D) and a paid program such as NoAdware or SpyWare Doctor. And, unlike anti-virus software, it is usually no problem to be running both free and paid for anti-spyware on the same machine.

Interestingly most paid programs claim that, amongst the other malware they will remove is perhaps the most dangerous type of all, the key-logger. This, as the name suggests, will take note of every key you press n your machine, and send this information to someone else. Imagine the financial havoc this could cause if this was your credit card details, for example, or a security password for your company network.

According to recent tests on many of the commercial anti-spyware program available, there is both good and bad news on the key-logger front. The bad news is that many of the anti-spyware programs do not seem to be that effective at detecting and removing commercial key loggers.

The good news is that, in most cases, in order for someone to put a key logger on your machine, they need actual physical access to it.

But, note, I said most that does not equal all, so you cannot be 100% confident of being entirely safe from key-loggers. And there is absolutely no doubt that, as the spyware designers become more sophisticated and capable, key-loggers are going to become a very serious problem for all computer users.

Lets just hope that, as far as key-loggers are concerned, the designers of the anti-spyware programs are as on the ball as the malware creators themselves.