Although Yahoo! Anti-Spy can't keep applications from being reinstalled on your computer, scanning your hard disk frequently with Yahoo! Anti-Spy can alert you to any new, possibly unwanted software on your system.

One way to keep this type of software from reappearing is to avoid installing unknown freeware or shareware.

The most important thing you can do is make sure your system is secure before connecting to the Internet. An unprotected Windows system will be attacked several times in less than an hour. For information on protecting your personal information and your computer online, please visit the Yahoo! Security Center.

If you're still having problems with a particular adware or spyware program, try searching Yahoo! Answers or the Yahoo! Anti-Spy Message Boards for the program that's causing problems. Sometimes, a manual process is required and the solution to your problem has already been found and is available there.