Below are some reliable softwares that offer free spyware protection:

1. Windows Defender
Genuine owners of Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista Operating Systems can
Download Windows Defender which is a free program protects your computer against pop-ups, slow performance and security threats caused by spyware and other potentially unwanted software.
However Windows 2000 systems or lower versions of windows are no longer supported and users might need to seek alternative protection from other places.

2. Spyware Bot
Spyware Bot is one of the few Spyware & Adware protection softwars that averts complications brought about by spyware for example corruption of PC data, personal profiling, hacker infiltration, pop-up ads and identity theft. This software also scans your computer for hundreds of hidden AdWare and Spyware and removes them permanently. It is an Advanced program that can blocks adware and spyware from sneaking into your system. Immediate detection is also one of its important features and can thus notify you the moment a spyware application attempts to run on your system.

3. XoxftSpySE
XoxftSpy Second Edition is a new and very advance spyware removal application available. It claims that it can protect you from unwanted Spyware, Adware, Malware, Browser Hijacking, Ad Popups and Keyloggers. It also removes harmful registry entries and corrupt files. XoxftSpySE enhances the performance and speed of your PC that could have been brought about by adware and spyware infections.
Most importantly apart from all these spyware protection features it also comes with a 100% Guarantee that few other softwares offer.

Always insist on anti- spyware anti virus software downloads from respectable firms e.g. free yahoo anti spyware, MacAfee, Symantec Antivirus softwares and so on. Hundreds of options exist in the market and it is wise to shop around before settling down for one of the free spyware protection softwares.

According to the Google security blog, the search giant already knows about hundreds of thousands of “bad” Web sites but is hoping that its users will add to the list by completing an online form to report malicious sites that are not already flagged.

Click here to file a report

* Keep the computer in a “public” area in your house.

* Monitor your child’s computer use. Talk with your children about their online activities and their online friends.

* Check out parental controls available on your online service. Block adult chat rooms. Block Instant/Personal Messages from people you don’t know. Install filtering/blocking software, or use a “clean Internet provider” that filters at the server level.

* Do not let your children have online profiles, so they will not be listed in directories and are less likely to be approached in children’s chat rooms, where pedophiles often search for prey.

* Tell your children to never “go private” into a private chat room.

* Tell your children to never give out personal information, including name, address, school they attend or teachers’ names, parents’ names, etc.

* Tell your children to never, never, never tell anyone where they will be or what they will be doing, and they may never meet someone from online without you.

* Tell your children to never respond to rude or offensive e-mail, messages, or postings.

* Do not allow your children to post, send or receive pictures online. Picture files generally end with GIF, JPG, or JPEG.

* Monitor the amount of time your child spends on the Internet, and at what times of day. Excessive time online, especially at night, may indicate a problem. Time on the Internet is time taken from other healthy activities.

* Tell your children to let you know if anything seems strange to them, if they are asked personal (”what are you wearing” type) questions, or if their online friend invites them someplace.

* Changes in your child’s behavior (mention of adults you don’t know, secretiveness, inappropriate sexual knowledge, sleeping problems, etc.) may indicate a problem.

* Letting children use the Internet unattended, particularly talking in chat rooms, is the equivalent of dropping them off in Central Park and saying, “Go make some new friends.”

Here are some great sites for kids

If you are like me you hate paying for security software. I also hate paying for car insurance, but I do it. You might consider paying for an anti-virus suite. Especially if you think you may need tech support. It really can come in handy when you need it most. If you really want to get an anti-virun package for free there are only two I would recommend.

AVG Free

AVG Free Edition is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product. Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy to use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements. Highlights include automatic update functionality, the AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files.

AVAST Free

Avast Home Edition is a complete ICSA & Checkmark certified antivirus. Avast includes the following components: On demand scanner with skinnable simple interface, just select what do you want to scan in which way and press the Play button; On access scanner, special providers to protect the most of available e-mail clients; Instant messaging–ICQ, Miranda; Network traffic–intrusion detection, lightweight firewall; P2P protection for Kazaa, BitTorrent; Web shield–monitors and filter all HTTP traffic; NNTP scanner–scans all Usenet Newsgroup traffic and all operations with files on PC; Boot time scanner–scans disks in the same way and in the same time as Windows CHKDSK does.

a)  Do not open attachments unless absolutely necessary, especially if they are sent by someone unknown to the recipient.

b)  Do not open EXE, BAT, VBS, and SCR type attachments ever, since they are common vectors for virus/malware infections.  Consider installing updated packages or the Microsoft Office 2000 E-mail Security Update, to block such attachments.

c)  Always scan attachments manually with antivirus software before opening them, if they must be opened.

d)  Open up scanned attachments, such as a DOC files, from within the program rather than simply double-clicking on an attachment.  If a document is in question, such as a DOC file, it can be opened up in a program like WordPad to view the text contents without the risk of a macro virus infection.

e)  If you are using Outlook or Outlook Express e-mail software configure e-mail messages as “Restricted Zone” (go to Tools/Options /Security, then choose Zone in the window below.)
f)  Consider using a plain text (non-HTML) e-mail reader such as Eudora or The Bat!

g) If possible, set your e-mail client to send messages in plain text (for Outlook go to Tools/Options/Mail Format, and then choose Plain text from the windows below).  have any questions let me know.

The first thing you need to make sure to do is make sure you have an anti-virus program, a spyware program, and a firewall installed on your computer.  The next thing you need to is make sure all of these programs as well as your operating system is up to date.  I will go into specific later, but that is the rough outline.

BTW, I may touch on Apple and Mac security, but this sites focus will be on PCs and the Windows operating system.