Hopefully you are now free of disease and misfortune, having followed the advice given in this article.
So now we move on to the most important part...
how not to have a repeat of this situation! Using your newly found knowledge of adware/spyware, how it works and where it comes from, you should be able to use common sense to work out most of the following precautions already.
But better safe than sorry, read carefully.
Do not accept anything which you do not know the source of.
After all, if somebody came up to you in the street and offered you an opaque black bag, it would be foolish to take it.
The same applies to the internet, even though you may think you know what you are getting, if you get it from the wrong website then you could be in for a surprise.
Websites which automatically show download boxes can rarely be trusted, and unless you are expecting such a download to occur then the safest option is to simply click the "Cancel" button.
The same goes for websites which state that they need an ActiveX Control to be downloaded in order to function properly, or you need to install their software in order to use the site fully.
These downloads are often the cause of nuisances on the computer.
A barrier between your computer and the internet would come in useful, one which doesn't allow malicious software in or out especially so, and luckily such a solution already exists.
The personal firewall is one of the computing industries most relied upon forms of software.
Preventing bank fraud to complete global computer failure, it is definitely necessary to at all times possible have an up and running firewall on your computer.
Continuing from the above, if you are somehow fooled or tricked into downloading potentially harmful software, it would come in handy to have an anti-virus suite or something similar running- that would detect the dangerous software and quarantine it- constantly, so that the malware will not have a chance to even get set up comfortable within your computer.
Obviously anti-spyware and anti-adware utilities such as the ones mentioned previously are a must have, after all it is these specialized programs which are trained to locate and destroy unwanted intruders without compromise.
Also, where practically possible, avoid using the freeware or bundled software which forces you to accept adware and/or spyware being installed on your computer in order to use it.
Usually this bundled software is not so dangerous, but as always in the world of computers, you cannot trust what you cannot see for yourself, and you cannot see the company on the other side of the internet who are aiming adverts directly at you.
All in all, you should now be fully prepared for an onslaught of nasty software, and can sleep soundly in your bed at night knowing that your private items are indeed private, and there are no invisible spooks watching over you.
Enjoy.