TPG Screen By Screen: Removing Spyware using Spybot 1.3

The main Spybot window then appears. Before you do anything else, you should click the Search For Updates button.

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Spybot will check to see if there are newer spyware definitions or any other program updates available. It's important that you keep Spybot up to date.

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After Spybot has retrieved a list of updates, select the ones you want and click Download Updates. Spybot will then download and apply the updates.

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When the upates have loaded, click Search & Destroy in the left pane. You'll then see this screen. Click Check For Problems.

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You can note Spybot's progress at the bottom of the screen. You can watch to see what checks are being made and how much longer the scan will take.

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When the scan completes, you'll see a list of problems found by spybot in the Problem list box. This list identifies spyware found on your system. If you click the [+], you can view more information about each entry. When all the items you want to delete are checked, click Fix Selected Problems.

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If you have System Restore turned on Windows XP or Windows Me, Spybot will create a System Restore Point prior to removing spyware. This will make it easy for you to undo any potential problems that removing a piece of spyware may cause.

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Spybot will prompt you to make sure you want to remove entries it detected as being spyware. Click Yes to continue.

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At the bottom of the screen, Spybot will display an indicator so you can tell its progress as it removes spyware from your system.

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Once Spybot removes all of the spyware, you'll see a confirmation screen. Spybot marks all removed spyware with a large green check. Close Spybot when you're done.

Sometimes Spybot can't remove a piece of spyware and requires you to reboot. Spybot will run before Windows finishes loading and will then find and eliminate the offending piece of spyware.

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