General computer
Web Robots
Web Robots (also known as Web Wanderers, Crawlers, or Spiders), are programs that traverse the Web automatically. Search engines such as Google use them to index the web content, spammers use them to scan for email addresses, and they have many other uses.
HOST FILES
You can use a HOSTS file to block ads, banners, 3rd party Cookies , 3rd party page counters, web bugs, and even most hijackers . This is accomplished by blocking the connection(s) that supplies these little gems.http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
These are only little files that can be downloaded at http://www.grc.com/default.htm there is also an explanation of what they are and why they should be used. This site is excellent for general computer security.
DCOMbobulator
Shoot The Messenger
Unplug n pray
XPdite
SPYWARE
The problem with spyware is when you get it on your computer it is very hard to remove. The spyware removal programs generally don't do a very good job. No one program will remove all spyware, so it is suggested that you run three or four programs. This still may not remove all the spyware. Beware that a lot of the main programs you use may be putting spyware onto you computer. I run Spywareblaster witch sits in the background and can stop a lot of spyware from being installed. Then check your system every couple of days with the spyware removal tools. These can be found in the Free Program section.