Spyware protection with Windows Defender 
What is Spyware?
Spyware is spy software on your personal system. This may vary from keystroke recording programs to additional cookies being placed on your system to report back to different vendors. The application for defense against spyware that has been tested by Bradley University is Windows Defender.
How do I know if I have Spyware?
With the ever-increasing use of spyware by companies, it is almost certain that everyone will get some form of spyware on their computer just by visiting a web site. A few of the common ones are WeatherBug, Gator, P2P Networking, BDE Projector and Instant Time. If you are experiencing network problems such as not being able to log in and not being able to browse the Internet then the problem is most likely related to spyware and not a glitch in the network.
How do I get rid of it and prevent it?
There are a couple of things you can do such as download and run certain software packages like Ad-Aware. Install and run Windows Defender to check for spyware that may cripple your system.
Install Windows Defender: This is the most current release of Windows Defender. If you are currently running Windows Defender and you were informed that an update is available, you are running an older version. We encourage you to upgrade to this version. You can check your version of Windows Defender by clicking the down arrow next to the help icon and choosing ‘About Windows Defender’.
Note: If you have version 1.1.1592.0, you must first manually uninstall Windows Defender before you can install this newer version. To configure or remove the existing version, use Add/Remove programs in the Control Panel.