Spyware is perhaps the biggest problem that Windows users have to deal with today. I don’t know a single household or business that hasn’t had to remove these pests in the past several months, and I am glad to see Microsoft finally stepping up to the challenge. Of course, I agree with Walt Mossberg of the Journal. The best way to fight spyware is to use a Mac — my Mac hasn’t had any problems here at Strom central (so far). But for those of you who will not make that leap and who are wrestling with spyware, here are my own personal tips, collected from around the Internet and my own trials and tribulations. To summarize, you’ll need the following five items to be totally safe from the bad guys:

1. Hardware firewall/router/gateway
2. Software firewall
3. Anti-virus protection
4. Remove and replace dangerous Windows components
5. Spyware detection/removal tools if all else fails

You can read more of this essay here.