Going Linux ?

If you are thinking of getting away from active-x related spy-ware by going to another OS, for your home Machine; Ubuntu. would be a good choice in my book.
I ran a couple of distro's for about six months; Ubuntu the largest portion of that time, and the only thing missing was the need to scan my whole system every time I finished surfing the web.
Sure I had a Linux virus scanner but never found a virus on my machine when I ran it. I had DVD software, flash and other players; I also ran a firewall, in short there was nothing missing and I do not recall getting anything I hadn't ask for when downloading info or programs and such..

Return to Windows

I came back to the windows OS for a time, to brush up and re-familiarize, so I could better help others rid themselves of spy ware, Mal ware and Viruses. I myself have never gotten a virus or spy-ware, while practicing what I teach.
I just don't have the energy I once had and credit a lack of drive to nights of cleaning up after dropping by a site to check out the latest spy software invasion method or trick for study.
I plan to install Linux again , and leave all this behind me.
I hate to say this but many users are just plane silly, silly enough to use IE and even click and download junk with attached Trojans; just because it appears cute or free . It is too much of a pain to see a clean system that only stays that way until someone forgets or ignores that which they've already been warned of.
I guess some people never learn or else can't take time enough to check with a mal-ware site before download something, or to run a good firewall and click no and don't ask me again when that firewall flags something; and to learn how to easily undo that block should they accidentally block their favorite messenger or once they have deemed something as safe.
Aah but that's too much like work; so lets download a bloated anti-everything software that takes control from the user, drags a system more so than a system infected with low threat spy-ware or other background resource hogs and pretend we don't know that many spy-ware infections do that very same thing and are otherwise no more harmful.

The browser wars

The biggest mistake those programmers made back during the browser wars was to integrate IE with the OS.
It opened doors for easier spy-ware infiltration..
It has been a growing pain ever since.
Although this sounds like old news, nothing was ever said directly concerning this connection with The windows OS, Active-x and spy-ware.
There was little (if any) effort to undo this integration and the only patch Windows ever needed was to de-integrate the browser, set a secure download sandbox style area for active-x files deliberately accepted and downloaded by its user and insure that no active-x function would be capable of installing any executable or capable of moving or placing files outside of that area.
The advertiser could still put on their light shows via limited interaction within that sandbox.
Yet they did the opposite of all this instead.
There are lots of things they could have done, including a routine that checked for background related function upon download and before execution etc.

Should We Hang up on Windows ?

I should probably have hung up on Windows ages ago. Just about every machine I have cleaned up in the past had something stupid on it again within days; like those fake and annoying tools to clean up spy-ware (It is pushy lie-ware / con-ware and often even spy-ware, just so you know the type I am referring to;) even after being informed time and time again; so even if you plan on using another browser such as Firefox, never download that crap or anything containing 3rd party software, especially anti-spy-ware tools.
I can only suppose some may think I'm just pushing Spy-ware Blaster and Spy-bot S&D as The best two anti-spy tools, for some monitory gain, or just to hear my head roar.
I am tired, and apparently incapable of relaying things in a way to make them stick, but then only a PC user can prevent getting spy-ware back on their machine I guess some people still fall for that line about "getting what you pay for",; as if to say; it isn't possible to get THE BEST for free or Donation, Who do you suppose cam up with that ant-slogan? but then let that be their problem, not yours.
life can be cruel ; for example if you were to pick a lock to help spare someones life , you could be viewed as suspicious or worse yet labeled as suspect to every future burglary committed for the rest of your natural born days; and it shouldn't come as a surprise to you, if that message was started by those there or that person who's life you helped spare.
You can't fix that; I can't fix that, and only a few close friends and Family would know better than that.
The same is true with many things; show someone you know quite a bit about spy-ware, malicious software, virus, and such and you are immediately under suspicion; especially if you show them your virus collection; you keep for study. ( DON'T EVER DO THAT ! ) So you could say people in life and those types that gather on the net can harden an honest person and cause them to withdraw, becoming less available or near a point of no return in the case of surfing the net. Speaking of the net; unless the Big-boys soon come to their senses. It's as if , there are no Good and reliable things to do or try on the net because someones space and blogs has everyone captive. Software O sure there's plenty of software to be bought but most come with strings, you can never own them and they are often riddled with too many patches, adding to an already bloated product. . To sum up the money making scheme(s) ; why would you buy a money making system that really only caters heavily to itself or more specifically; it's owner. You know the type that claims to have software, a service or connections to make you a profit or make you rich; when the only sure fired profit maker is the seller of that offer with an ingenuous plan with arranged links to later bring what should be your traffic straight to them. If it says your results may very; that's because they couldn't sell you anything and cover the possibility of getting sued; without otherwise tipping you off , by telling it like it really is; and saying; these results are exaggerated, so expect less. They're not going to miss out on a sale and so are bound to fudge in some way. Aah that Greed and Love of money. What does all this have to do with spy-ware? Well with all this against you, you could go to the ultimate spy-ware, virus, cure extreme and quit surfing the net altogether. ( I'm betting that would work! ) Although there are plenty of things to hate about software and the net, people just keep going back for more, so I can't imagine how much more traffic advertisers would get if the net were without spy-ware and viruses that slow, detour and break connections.
Unless of coarse it's while running Linux and that is as close as one is going to get to that scenario.