Ad-aware,
Spybot, Search and Destroy, and
SpywareBlaster are all excellent free programs that will get the junk off your pc, but certain types of spyware will download harmless sounding programs that will continue to update and download nasty stuff even after you eliminate the bugs.
ZoneAlarm®, in addition to being a good firewall, also can be set to require permission for any program trying to access the internet. Many of these bugs are given file names similar to legitimate Windows processes, and this feature can help track them down.
The following sites are good resources for finding and separating the bad stuff from the real Task List processes
Kephyr has a great
Spyware and Adware Encyclopedia and a lot of other info.
Andrew Clover also has a great
spyware, adware, and parasite info page
The
Windows Process Library helps sort it out what is going on in your processor's background, and
Answers That Work also has loads of info including
Task List Programs
I found that the Keenvalue_112 updator snuck into my program files, and I tracked it down with ZoneAlarm and manually removed it-It would download more nasties everytime I logged on to the web, even though I removed them. My boss's kids had their PC so clogged with junk that they were unable to open IE. I was able to clean it with the above programs, and the latest free version of SpywareBlaster now protects Mozilla as well.
Bookmarking your post.
I paid $19.95 for Webroot's SpySweeper, and it was worth every penny. Updates, scans, cleans, and the tech support guys helped me with workarounds for two particularly persistent little buggers. Best investment on my PC I've ever made.
Not saying the free ones aren't good, but I'm suspecting there's something extra if you upgrade, and there's a reason they charge for it.