Spybot Search and Destroy

starting up

When first starting Spybot you'll probably be greeted by a warning about programs not functioning after removing ad programs. Hit OK to keep going. There are many programs that are ad supported and may not run properly when the supporting advertising program is removed. If you have any programs that are supported by advertising you may wish to rethink keeping that program on your machine.

search for updates

Like other anti-malware programs you'll want to make sure this program is up to date.

Spybot 1.4

Press the Search for updates button.
If updates are available, right-click in the box that displays the updates and left-click on Select all.
Click on the Download Updates button.

Spybot 1.5

Press the Search for updates button.
Choose a location to download from and press the Continue button.
Place a checkmark next to all available downloads.
Press the Download button.
After the downloads complete press the Exit button.

search and destroy

When you're ready to clean the system press the Search and destroy button at the top of the left column. The window will change slightly.
Press the Check for problems button to start. The scan may take a while to complete.
When the scan is finished you'll want to click the Fix selected problems button at the top. Make sure all objects are selected first. You can right-click and select all if needed.
You'll receive a "Continue?" type warning. Press OK to finish the job.

immunize

Spybot 1.5

This plugs up some holes to prevent malware from passing through your Web browser. Look at the top-right corner and you'll see Unprotected, Protected and Total. As long as Unprotected reads 0 then you're OK, otherwise just press the Immunize button.

other features

If you click on the Mode menu you'll notice there are two modes. Click on Advanced Mode to gain access to some helpful tools. Click on Yes to the warning to go into Advanced Mode. Some of the tools you will find are:

Settings

Settings: Change various settings for Spybot like automatically updating on program startup.
Scheduler: Allows setup of an automatic Spybot scan using the Windows Scheduler.

Tools

View Report: Read logs that Spybot generated to see what it discovered.
Resident: Activate/deactivate the SDHelper (Internet Explorer bad download blocker) and TeaTimer (live monitoring for the entire system).
Secure Shredder (removed from Spybot 1.5): When you really want to get rid of a file.
ActiveX: See what ActiveX controls are installed on your system. ActiveX controls are plug-ins for Internet Explorer. They often pose a major security hole for Windows.
BHOs: Browser Helper Objects are applications that allow more functionality for Internet Explorer. See the definitions page for a link to the Wikipedia Web page.
Browser Pages: Lists startup and search pages registered with Internet Explorer.
IE Tweaks: Lock down Internet Explorer from changes.
Hosts File: Block access to known harmful Web sites.
Opt Out: Be removed from certain mailing lists
Process List: Find out what processes are currently running and kill them if needed.
System Internals: Checks the Windows Registry for broken paths to files and orphans.
System Startup: Find out what programs are starting with Windows.
Uninstall Info: List which programs have registered an uninstall program with Windows.