If you received an instant message from a buddy urging you to "check this out . . ." and then a link to a web page beginning with www.wgutv.com, rest assured that it is bogus. The link points to the "WGU News Player," where you can find out about Osama bin Laden's capture (not true). In order to do so, you must first download the WGU News Player, an ActiveX control. This ActiveX control is, of course, spyware and hooks into your instant messaging client. It automatically sends people on your buddy list IMs advertising products and services and also entices them to download the ActiveX control so that they, too, can become unwilling purveyors of advertising.

Step one of the process is don't download ActiveX controls from companies you don't trust! Everyone must be chastised for this. Why do you need ActiveX controls from Microsoft? So you can get Windows Updates. Why do you need ActiveX controls from Macromedia? So you can view Flash animation. Do not download ActiveX controls from companies that you are not familiar with! And if you aren't sure, read their terms and services. The WGU News Player is provided by PSD Tools, Inc. This is what their terms and services say: "In addition, the Software will interoperate with your current instant messaging client so as to permit the automatic sending of advertising messages originating from your Computer to your contact or 'buddy' list regarding Content offered by PSD Tools or its suppliers."

Step two: go to Add/Remove Programs and find a program with "buddylinks.net" in the name. Remove it. Also remove "PSD Tools v1.0" or anything similar. You will probably have to turn off your instant messenger (but I'm sure you can survive for ten seconds).

Step three: if you have your Internet Explorer or Netscape (or Mozilla, Firebird, or Opera) browsers set to automatically install ActiveX controls, don't. This is extremely stupid. Reset your security settings to their defaults. They're the "default" settings for a reason: they keep security at a reasonable level. if you're concerned that the crappy file-sharing program you downloaded is full of spyware (and it is: Kazaa, LimeWire, Bearshare, Morpheus, P2P Networking -- they're all full of spyware) download Spybot Search & Destroy. If you download two spyware-removal programs, they should be Spybot and Ad-Aware (from Lavasoft). Do not download any other spyware-removal programs! Chances are good that they will install more spyware under guise of removing it. If all of this sounds a little angry, it should be. In tech support, I see ten thousand computers a day that are loaded with spyware junk because people don't know how to take care of their computers and then they wonder why they get ad popups every ten seconds. Not to mention that the file-sharing programs they use to get their Justin Timberlake music is terrible, anyway. Your computer is not a toy; take care of it or you will end up having to call tech support (and some computer companies -- Dell, for example -- will not tell you how to remove spyware, so you'll be on your own). Only download Spybot and Ad-Aware; they are the only ones to be trusted as legitimate spyware-removal programs.

And for crying out loud, have an antivirus program installed! Especially if you do the file-sharing, because files with enticing names can be viruses! Serenity now!