Some time ago I read in your column about somebody whose computer had somehow picked up a piece of spyware which captured a secret record of all the keystrokes that were made on their keyboard, in other words everything they typed in. It occurred to me that if this piece of spyware is present on my computer and I log into my online banking account I?ll be inputting my login name and password. Anybody who has access to the log would then be able to see my bank balance and transfer money out of my account. There isn?t enough money in there as it is. Somebody at work told me that they?ve heard of virtual keyboard that can be used instead of the ordinary one. Can you tell me if I would have one of those on my PC? My computer has XP home edition.I did write about a keystroke logger and, yes, I did find one at work on a client?s computer. The program which hosted it was misleadingly named ?helper.exe? and its presence was very disconcerting. We still don?t know where it came from. It produced and squirreled away a simple text file record of every keystroke made on that particular computer, as well as a record of the times of the computer was started up and shutdown and every website visited online for which the address had been typed in at the top of the browser. Of course, when I eventually found it in there, I immediately deleted it. As you can imagine that user now runs spyware removal software on a regular basis. And, yes, during the period of infestation, if that person had used their online banking logon or typed in their credit card number it too would have been readable in the text log that was being produced.

There is a virtual keyboard included in every copy of Windows XP. In case you don?t know what a virtual keyboard is, it?s a graphical representation of a keyboard which can be made to appear on the screen after which you can click on the letters and numbers and all the other buttons using your mouse and all any keystroke logger will be able to record is the number of mouse clicks but not which letters or numbers they represent!

To access the virtual keyboard on your XP computer click on Start, Run, and in the ?open:? box type in ?osk? and up pops a virtual on-screen keyboard. This keyboard can be used with a mouse or joystick (that?s what they say anyway) and you can choose between a regular or block configuration. I just tried it and it works as advertised although I wouldn?t like to have to write this column on it. It might, however, be acceptable as an alternative to typing in confidential passwords and credit card numbers in the usual manner on the conventional keyboard (and maybe introducing an entry into a keystroke logger). Give it a try.You have often mentioned the free anti-spyware product Ad-aware6. I also see it mentioned in computer magazines and so I went ahead and downloaded it from www.lavasoftusa.combut I don?t find it very easy to use. I did use it successfully once, beginner?s luck I guess, but too much time elapsed and now when following through the various screens I get confused about what I?m supposed to do next. I?m sure I?m not the only one. Can you provide any assistance or a guide to actually using this product? For example, when an object is recognised how do I get rid of it? Quarantine ? Show logfile ? Next wants a file name ? I can?t see one! I got one warning with that noise (and the bug) and I just need to know how to get rid of it. I can?t find any key that will delete it.

I?m very aware that viruses and spyware must be dealt with. So any assistance you can offer would be most appreciated.You?re the third person in as many days to ask me to explain how to understand or use the various screens in Ad-aware6 including she-who-must-be-obeyed. To write it all down I went through the procedure on my own computer, and in doing so found nine new unwelcome guests, so thank you.

Here?s how I use it. By the way, the record for the most amount of spyware on one computer that I have seen unearthed in one sweep by this program is 485. If you exceed this number let me know or contact the Guinness Book of World Records directly.

Go ahead and open Ad-aware 6

On the opening page there is a header named ?Ad-aware6 Status?.

To make sure you have the latest anti-spyware reference files (if you are on line already) click on the linelower downwhich reads ?Check for updates now?.

On the screen headed ?Performing Webupdate? click the button with the blue arrow which says ?Connect? if there is a new reference-file available click okay and allow the ?Webupdate? to complete, when it has click ?Finish?.

You will be returned to the ?Ad-aware 6 Status? screen.

This time click the ?Start? button at the bottom.

Next you will see the ?Preparing system scan screen?. Leave it in the perform smart system scan default position, click ?Next?.

The next screen is headed ?Performing system scan? and the scan for spyware will proceed.

The scan will proceed automatically, if any spyware is found, at the end the screen header will read ?Scan complete?.

The number of objects (found) will be displayed and a blinking bug symbol will be seen.

Click ?Next?.

The next screen is headed ?scanning results?.

Make sure all the boxes in the leftmost column under?scanning results? have a check mark in them.

If they don?t already have a check mark, put one in them by clicking each one in turn.

When this is done click ?Next?.

A box will appear telling you that the number of objects found will be removed.

Click ?OK?.

That?s it! Close Ad-aware 6 by clicking the red X in the top right corner.Although I don?t consider myself any kind of expert on computers I?ve had a home computer of one sort or another since 1998. Like a lot of other people I?ll bet I have accumulated quite a few pieces of perfectly good software which I no longer use. I have boxes and bags with floppy disks, CDs, users manuals, installation instructions and even a copy of Windows 98 still in the original sealed plastic pack, including the CD. Can I sell these things, is it legal to reuse them? I just hate to throw them away it seems like such a waste.I know that many people have the same problem. By now many people are not on their first or even their second home computer. Also, most people have moved away from Windows 98 and Windows ME to XP. What happens to all the software that came with those once prized, new computers of a few years ago? There are last year?s versions of games that have since been replaced in favour of their newer versions. But the originals work as well as they ever did. There are also boxes of, now redundant, dial-up modems and last year?s sound cards and video cards. These days I replace quite a few CD recorders with DVD recorders. What happens to the replaced optical drives? They probably just languish on some shelf in a closet. What a waste!

If you buy a computer from the factory and it comes with Windows XP pre-installed or your old computer has been scrapped or disposed of, can you once again use the programs that came with it? I?m no legal expert but it seems to me that if you read the licensing agreements that apply to most software for the home user, you are allowed to use that program on one machine only. Probably, if that machine no longer exists you are free to reuse the software.

However, if you bought an upgrade copy of Windows XP to modernise an older computer then you should be aware that the new XP operating system is theoretically added on to the previous operating system. In that case the original one will effectively still be in use, so you can?t reuse that one.

We could use a local swap meet or bulletin board or some place where redundant originals of software no longer in use, for example, like last year?s version of Diskeeper or PartitionMagic 7, could be resold for a reasonable fraction of the original cost and be used again instead of sitting on someone?s shelf becoming ever more out of date. If anybody has any ideas please let me know.