I too use Lavasoft's Ad-Aware -- great product.
And yes, CBLong, adware/spyware does truly exist, and in very annoying amounts. Here's a recent article which addresses the situation reasonably well:
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/2...5/5128667s.htm
I had my browser hijacked once (just like the guy in the first two paragraphs of the above article) which prompted me to explore Lavasoft and others who make anti-spyware products. Thankfully Ad-aware found the culprit and notified me, so that I could take appropriate action. It also found other adware files which had been installed.
It's amazing how many adware/spyware/etc. products are embedded in programs! My mother-in-law purchased (yes, purchased, not free- or share-ware) a simple card game program, and it installed some junk files (mostly adware) in addition to the program. However, if you tried to remove the embedded adware files (unrelated to the game itself), the game wouldn't work! How cheesy!
Again, Lavasoft's
basic Ad-aware program, which I use, is free to the individual user, so don't interpret my post as an advertisement for them -- I'm just a very satisfied customer! One note, though; if you go to the Lavasoft website, it's a .de site, not a .com or .co.uk
Back to the original question raised at the beginning of this thread -- I can honestly state that PPRuNe has
never been a source of any of the spyware or adware found on my computer, in any way, shape or form, and I've been PPRuNe-ing regularly for more than 5 years.