How safe is your computer from spyware?

PC World just released a 9 page article on spyware detection and removal. They tested seven products in the $20 to $40 range from big and small vendors: Allume Systems' (formerly Aladdin Systems') Internet Cleanup, Aluria Software's Spyware Eliminator, Computer Associates' ETrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware, InterMute's SpySubtract Pro, McAfee's AntiSpyware, Sunbelt Software's CounterSpy, and Webroot Software's Spy Sweeper. In addition, they tested two popular free programs--Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE Personal and Safer Networking's Spybot Search & Destroy--and a third free program that operates very differently but no less effectively, Merijn.org's HijackThis. They also tested one product in beta, Microsoft's new Windows AntiSpyware. What were the surprising results? Ad-aware SE was tops in free spyware programs but failed overall. Scoring 65% scanning efficiency. CounterSpy a subscription based program won overall scored 85% scanning efficiency against 45 ad-ware and spyware programs they frequently run into in at work. These 45 applications created 81 separate files and processes--which proved a challenge for all apps to remove completely. The complete article can be found here http://tinyurl.com/56pbs