This weekend I tried out a couple of free downloadable approaches to remove some pesky spyware. Webroot SpySweeper gave me a textbook experience of how not to attract customers, while Microsoft's Windows Defender was perfect.

I tried Webroot first because they have more spyware experience and I was familiar with the product from prior use. Starting the scan was easy – I just clicked on the “Start Spyware Scan Now” link. After 10 minutes of installation and 35 minutes of scanning, SpySweeper told me that it had found a few things and would I like them removed? Not so fast! You have to buy the product to remove spyware that the free scan found. Now I'm ok with that as a business model, but please tell the user first! Nowhere does it say that removal is extra. I ended up wasting an hour of my weekend on a marketing trick. Trust me I am not pleased with Webroot right now.