Fortunately, there are generous individuals and organizations who have the facilities to review the work of the Anti-spyware developers and make the results available for all of us everyday users of the Internet.
The challenge for us is to know where to go for these results and recommendations, and to know which of the anti-spyware and anti-virus programs to use on our computers.
There are many web masters, newsletter, and Blog publishers who constantly monitor the results published by the anti-spyware reviewers. Most of them pass these information alerts on to their readers and subscribers, often offering suggestions and advice based on their own personal experiences and expertise.
A real benefit for us is that most of the top rated anti-spyware and anti-virus programs are free, or available in Trial or Demo versions.
All we need do is find out where to get them. But first, we need to find the reviewers who post the alerts.
If subscribing to newsletters and Blogs isn't your usual surfing activity, you can do a search for security alert newsletters or security alert blogs. For example, do a Yahoo search for "security alert newsletter" (use the quotation marks to get the most appropriate search results). Do the same for a Yahoo or Google search on "security alert blog". (Blogs are web logs).
Investigate the first and second pages of the search results and select three or four of the listings as a starting point. Many newsletters are published on a monthly schedule and may not contain the most current information. Some are published weekly. They may be better choices.
Blogs are usually much more current since Blog authors often post their information every couple of days - some even on a daily basis.
Blogs are riding a major wave of popularity. For the serious searchers of current information, this is a great benefit. There aren't as many Blog sites as web sites yet, so it's often much easier to find the information you're looking for.
Many Blog authors make their publications available for RSS (Real Simple Syndication) readers. If you have added a RSS reader to your browser, you can get up-to-the-minute alerts presented to you automatically. You don't need to go looking for them.
Many updated browsers, like Netscape 8 and Firefox include this feature as part of their package. Expect the newest Internet Explorer to have a RSS Reader, too.
Don't be overwhelmed by all of the information you get. After doing these searches and reviews once or twice, it will be a simple task to select what you need to keep yourself current.
For starters, it is generally accepted practice to select and use at least two anti-spyware programs. Choose from among the two or three that receive the highest recommendations and ratings from the newsletter and Blog authors. Be especially watchful for and select one of those programs that provides 'Real Time' monitoring. (Which means that they monitor and catch any incoming bugs that may try to infect your machine while you are online).
Downloading instructions are nearly always present with the reviews. If not, you'll find sites like c|net.com to be a good source for download links.
Just don't forget to check for and update your security software. The spyware writers won't give you a break if you do.
