These are some of the anti-malware programs that I, and others I know, have used and are free and successful. It is a good idea to have more than one anti-spyware tool, and to run virus/spyware scans every few days.

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Anti-Spyware
AVG Anti-Spyware tool (http://www.ewido.net/en/download/)
Spybot Search and Destroy (http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10122137.html)
Windows Defender (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=435BFCE7-DA2B-4A6A-AFA4-F7F14E605A0D&displaylang=en)

Anti-Virus
AVG Anti-Virus tool (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-spyware-free/lng/us/tpl/v5)

Firewall
COMODO Firewall Pro (http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/)

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All of these programs are downloadable for FREE, and are safe, user-friendly, and effective ways to keep your system secure.