Spyware Detection

• Your web browser's homepage being changed to a different page, even though you didn't ask for it.
  
  
• Your web browser contains a new toolbar which you did not choose to install.
  
  
• Searches and mistyped URLs may be redirected to unfamiliar websites.
  
  
• Spontaneously additions or modifications to your favorites/bookmarks in your web browser.
  
  
• Pop-ups appearing when surfing. Although some web sites may display pop-ups as part of their normal operation, if your computer is infected with spyware, you may see pop-ups more frequently. A common tell-tale sign is you start to see pop-up advertising rival merchants when visiting internet stores (you are shopping at store X, but you when try to check out you see a pop-up advertising its competitor, store Y).
  
  Note: If your web browser shows pop-ups saying your computer is infected with spyware, and the spyware should be removed by purchasing a particular software package, you may wish to be skeptical. These pop-ups may actually be adverts (rather than the results of a real anti-spyware scan) for the particular software package in question - see below for further details.
  
  
• Your system may become slow (although this can also be caused by other things than spyware).
  
  
• Your system becomes unstable, crashing more frequently, particularly when web surfing (although this can also be caused by other things than spyware).

• Many anti-spyware software packages offer a free scanning option, so you may be able to check your system even without buying something (and perhaps only buy a suitable package if your system is indeed infected).
  
  
• Please note, as there are so many spyware programs out there, as they change so frequently, and as many take active steps to avoid detection, it may be a good idea to use more than one anti-spyware software package to scan your computer, just in case spyware infection is not detected by the first package that you try.
  
  
• There have allegedly been some anti-spyware sites which have used advertising methods that falsely claimed a person's computer is infected with spyware, even when it's not (for example, by displaying pop-up windows when you browse their web site claiming your computer is infected even though no test has been actually been done). So when choosing software, you need to bear this in mind too.
  
  This can of course be a real problem - you don't want to be misled by a false claim, but neither do you wish to ignore a real problem, I can't really suggest a solution other than to be skeptical about web pop-ups, do your research, and use only anti-spyware software from reputable vendors.