HijackThis

Anyone who's been in the ring with spyware knows some opponents just refuse to go down. If your arsenal of spyware-removal tools has failed to eighty-six a particularly devious intruder, this program could be one of your last hopes before reformatting. But unless you're a serious computer surgeon, you'll probably need to consult a Web-based forum to make sense of the program's scan results. (For more information, read our HijackThis tutorial.) Though you won't use it every day, sooner or later you'll be glad you have HijackThis.