Even if you don't think you have spyware, you should always scan your machine anyway because you can never be too sure.
Spyware is different to viruses, as they won't spread wildly around your PC and affect other programs and files that you have on there.
But they could be tracking everything you are currently doing on your machine.
Yes, the websites you are visiting, the details you are entering into your online banking account.
Everything! So is using cheap spyware the answer? Or should you download free spyware instead? Before we look into that, lets look at just how spyware installs itself on your machine first, as often if you can prevent it from occurring, you won't have to look at ways of removing it.
The majority of spyware will auto install itself via the Internet Explorer browser or programs that work with Active X.
You won't know they have installed themselves and will just sit quietly in the background, keeping track of everything you are doing.
If your machine slows down a great deal and popup boxes start appearing, then this is almost certainly a symptom of spyware.
So always be careful of which websites you visit and never install anything if you are asked to.
Also, don't click on popup boxes because they are the most common way to install spyware on your PC.
Using free spyware software can remove various forms of spyware but you must be very careful to download only trusted programs.
Cheap spyware programs on the other will most often be supported and regularly updated to help you protect yourself against new forms of spyware that enter the market.
So cheap spyware will almost certainly be better than free spyware but if you want to try the free spyware first, then make sure you review the software and company as best you can before you install anything on your machine.