In March 2005, Sony's BMG music division began shipping music CDs that included a particularly strong form of digital rights management (DRM) software called XCP. These CDs play normally in a standard CD player, but when inserted into a PC they will attempt to install the DRM software onto the PC. The software limits the number of copies you can make and prevents transfer of the music to some music players such as the Apple iPod.

There is no doubt that the lines are being drawn for a galactic cyber battle for control over your PC and your desktop. Spyware and adware companies make barrels of money installing their clandestine applications on your PC without your knowledge. Even for an advanced user, typically the most expedient solution is to install an anti spyware product. This article will take an in depth look at the various anti spyware solutions we have seen at PC Pitstop. During this discussion, the reader should refer to our anti spyware graph from our research section.

Five Things You Need to Know about Spyware Antispyware pioneers on the decline New Spyware Deep Scan available at PC Pitstop State of Texas to Sony: "Stop Making Spyware"

As the spyware companies invent new and innovative ways to sneak software onto your PC, we, users, fight back by installing anti spyware software to detect and eradicate the egregious software.

The graph below represents slightly over a million computers tested at PC Pitstop from Feb 2005 through Sep 2005. Each computers Add/Remove software program list is analyzed for the anti spyware software shown below. The red $ signs indicate products that are for sale, and the rest are free downloads.