Fighting spyware may seem like an uphill battle, but it is a campaign that most of us have little choice but to wage. Over a 15-month period. Microsoft's MSRT alone removed 16 million instances of malicious software from 5.7 million computers, 62 percent of which housed at least one backdoor trojan.
Even the most computer- and security-savvy Internet users occasionally fall victim to spyware. Given the financial gain that drives spyware, these pests will undoubtedly continue to proliferate. For spyware. the best defense is a strong offense: taking reasonable steps to prevent and detect spyware can reduce your risk of compromise and your need for expensive remediation .

The old adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" certainly applies to spyware. Once spyware has been installed on a host, it can be extremely difficult to return that host to a trustworthy state. Efficient spyware defense starts with proactive steps intended to circumvent popular delivery methods.