This Friday, the FTC took down the makers of SpywareAssassin, a
fraudulent and worthless anti-spyware company. That’s great news,
and I hope the other shady anti-spyware companies are shaking in
collective boots! We’ve been saying over and over again on our radio show, Tech Talk that there are really only a few anti-spyware apps worth messing with, and it’s good to start with the free ones that are available. With a couple of possible exceptions (Spy Sweeper and Pest Patrol, perhaps) Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy 1.3 and CWShredder are as good as any product that you’d have to pay for.

Today @ PC World - FTC Takes Down Fraudulent Anti-Spyware Company
___________________________________________________________________