lock down your hosts file !

[anandk]

this tut is meant esp for newbies...

"Imagine clicking your Download.com bookmark and seeing a completely different Web site load in your browser-or trying to go to Google and getting a totally different search site. Some spyware redirects Web addresses on your computer by altering your hosts file."

The file's name is simply hosts, with no extension. In Windows XP, the hosts file should be in this directory path:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC. For Windows 2000, look for it here: C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC.
And in Windows 98 and Me, this is the appropriate path: C:\WINDOWS.
Now Make it read-only !

i suggest u download an 'ideal' hosts file from here http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
unzip it and replace ur host file with this one. then make it 'read-only'. this way u will be protected from spyware too.

to manage ur hosts, download and use this xclnt small utility HOSTS Manager from www.aldostools.com
there r other such good freewares too.

for more details clcik http://www.download.com/How-to-lock-...4-5157524.html

[it_waaznt_me]

Better use Spyware Blaster ..

[anandk]

spywareblaster is great; i use it...but thats a difrnt layer of protection...just like adding malafide sites to ur restricted zones list using ie-spyads, is yet another layer of protection !