Anti virus and spyware/adware removal software
Virus software
A great deal of unwanted email is generated by viruses (worms), which infect a computer and send emails out without the owner's knowledge.
You should always ensure that you have up to date virus software installed, and perform a full scan of your computer every week.
Spyware and Adware
It is also a good idea to use anti spyware/adware software to scan your computer for other files that could record details about you and report them back to others.
A lot of free software includes such files, and these can often send details about you back to the software vendor. Some software will hi-jack your Internet browser search, change your home page, or show pop-up advertisements while you browse of work.
Most popular anti-virus products will often not pick up these ‘lower risk’ ad-ware items.
