In a column which appeared here last November I offered a prize for anyone who could prove to me that they had found more than 485 pieces of spyware lodged in their PC. No one claimed the prize. But now I have to tell you that finding a mere 486 pieces of spyware on a single computer will no longer be enough to win.

Last week I was given the challenge of bringing back a computer from a near terminal state of serial malfunction. This neglected machine had been regularly used by a family to cruise the net and download all sorts of intriguing pieces of free software without the benefit of any valid anti-virus software or any anti-spyware software. Nonetheless, almost as a demonstration of the robust qualities of a modern domestic PC, this computer struggled on ever more slowly until it gradually ground to a halt amid a flurry of alarming error messages, at which point it was the host of 17 known viruses.

I eventually repaired it enough that it would accept a spyware removal program, although at that point it would still not connect to the Internet. I installed and ran Ad Aware 6 which in its first run unearthed 438 objects. I was seriously impressed but at that point it still seemed that the standing record of 485 was safe. After the removal of the 438 pieces of spyware, including several items of malware, that is malicious software, the PC was starting to come back to normal operation and I was at last able to get the computer to connect to the Internet and in doing so update the spyware dat files by direct linkage to the software provider at www.lavasoftusa.com.

With the latest versions incorporated into the spyware software I ran the scan again and was suddenly able to detect another 135 items of deeply embedded spyware, for a grand total of 573 separate, uninvited, unwanted pests on one computer. One of the lessons to be learned from this is that even good spyware and anti-virus detection software needs to be maintained by being updated regularly through direct contact and download from the software manufacturer. The reason the spyware removal software didn't find the final 135 pieces on its first sweep was that the detection files incorporated in the software, until they were updated, lacked the ability to recognise the more recent pests.

According to one of the makers of spyware removal software there are more than 78,000 items of spyware on the loose. When I talk to my customers about this problem they frequently ask in dismay why anybody would create and disseminate these vermin? The answer is that it can be big business to track browsing habits and thereby focus advertising or even possibly divert your attention toward to the websites that they represent. There are also key loggers which record keystrokes. Think twice before you type in your passwords or credit card numbers into an unguarded computer. It has been estimated that more than 80 percent of all PCs will end up with some form of spyware. Offhand I can't think of any that I have received for repair which have been out on the Web and remained totally free of spyware.

The lesson to take away from all this is not that you are doomed if you go out on the Web. The Web remains one of the most wonderful informational and educational developments of modern times, it's simply a matter of taking care and installing software, which can be acquired at no expense, to combat the threat of spyware as well as other software to combat the better known threat of viruses. However, it's not enough to simply install these tools they also must be kept up-to-date.

An anti-virus software company that makes one of the best of these products has said that the majority of the viruses its products are combating are new on the scene and usually have been developed or at least first encountered in the preceding six weeks. Failure to update anti-virus software very regularly, and by that I mean at least once a week, means you may be vulnerable to the latest and possibly most evolved computer viruses. And those are the ones that will get you.

So the challenge continues but now the bar has been raised, if you can show me proof, a screenshot will do, that you have found a PC, which in no more than two scans, has been found to contain more than 573 items of spyware, the prize (which I assure you is exceedingly modest) may well be yours.

One of the great pleasures of writing this column is the feedback I receive from the readers. I wish there was space to include more of the comments and questions that I receive this way.

Last week I wrote in this column that I have yet to see a laptop computer with a DVD recorder built into it although I did go on to say that such a component was listed for sale by Dell computers. An observant reader quite correctly pointed out to me of that Apple include a DVD recorder known as the SuperDrive on their PowerBook G4 computers. This lovely piece of technology will let you read and burn music and data CDs, as well as DVD's that can be played in most consumer DVD players. The SuperDrive plays DVD and writes to 4.7-gigabyte DVD-R discs, and it reads CDs and writes to CD-R and CD-RW disks.

To this revelation I countered that I had been writing about PCs and as remarkable as Apple computers are, when I am describing PCs I am referring to the vast majority which are not Macs. However, for the sake of accuracy, he pointed out to me that Apple computers can be run in PC emulation mode. I could say that's stretching a point but then being accurate in a computer advice column is a good thing. Thank you.

James W. Lapsley of ComputerWorks, specialises in PC repairs, upgrades and advice for the home and small office user. ComputerWorks welcomes your questions and comments. Send your PC questions by e-mail to computerworks@logic.bm or by phone to 293-0992.