Counter-espionage for your computer. NAME and DOWNLOAD LINK: Ad-aware™ 6.0 DESCRIPTION: Prevents devious cookies and programs from phoning home. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: Win98/98SE/ME/NT40/2000/XP Home/XP Pro. COMMENT: Ad-aware ranks among the top five freebies in thoughtful design and thorough documentation we've come across. In the words of its designer(s), it's a "multi-trackware detection and removal utility that will comprehensively scan your memory, registry, hard, removable and optical drives for known Datamining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, Keyloggers, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components." In short, Ad-aware lets you know which cookies and other unwanted additions to your computer may be sending information back to the originator. It's up to you which should be quarantined. Fortunately, you can later un-quarantine. Read before you dig. While the documentation is complete (more than you ever wanted to know), it's important to read about your initial setup. We discovered the default arrangement works just fine. Don't be surprised if some of the options described don't function - that's the price of freeware vs. paidware. Once you've completed that first run, you may wish to exclude specific programs, or files over a certain size, from further analysis. Doing so will cut down on the time Ad-ware requires to check your computer. When a suspicious file is found, Ad-aware lets you review Object Details, which include Risk Level and Description. It's advisable to go over those so you don't quarantine items of value. Our run suggested a CNET registry key entry might highjack our browser. It is in fact part of our CNET toolbar. As you decide which items should be banished, put a check mark next to each. Then kiss them all goodbye. There's more to Ad-aware, but doing just the basics will lesson your chances of being tailed by some unscrupulous organization. Finally, be sure to click Webupdate regularly. Much as a virus checker should have the most recent virus list, so too should Ad-aware have the latest reference file. RATING: If you have reason to believe you're carrying a spy, or are just plain paranoid, Ad-aware is generally considered to be the best freeware solution.