Beware 'CoolWebSearch'!

It's the worst example of spyware that Webroot, an anti-spyware company, has seen. It's a malicious, self-installing program that hijacks Web searches and disables security settings in the Internet Explorer browser, then takes control of your Web surfing, ZDNET UK reports. To avoid getting it, Webroot recommends that people be sure to stay up-to-date on Microsoft security patches (go here), avoid using freeware (free software that can be downloaded at sites like Download.com and Tucows.com), and disable downloads via ActiveX in Explorer (your kids will probably be able to help you with this last one). A lot of techies are also saying it's a good idea just to switch to the free FireFox browser. CoolWebSearch tops Webroot's list of Top 10 spyware threats .