But how well do they actually protect you from the ITDs. Some times I feel like I'm back in the Army with all these acronyms. Most ISPs started out by providing an email spam filtering service. This is great but far from the protection you need from the wild wild web these days. Within the last year ISPs have recognized the ever growing threat and have introduced more protection. Here we will take a look at what some of the ISPs have to offer.

I will be discussing the broadband providers since that are where most of the problems are because these connections are always on. However, don't let your guard down simply because you have dialup.

With the introduction of version 9.0 AOL teamed up with Aluria Software, makers of Spyware Eliminator, to provide its customers with spyware protection simply called "AOL Spyware Protection." AOL will even let people not using AOL's service download and use AOL Spyware Protection.

AOL Spyware Protection automatically scans a member's computer once a week. Members can also manually initiate a spyware/adware scan by clicking on the AOL Spyware Protection icon on the member's desktop, or they can set up automatic spyware scans at more regular intervals, such as daily/ weekly or at a specific day and time.

The database for AOL Spyware Protection is regularly updated to help members find and disable the latest spyware and adware applications. There was much to do about AOL's teaming up with Aluria as its antispyware warrior because Aluria claimed one of its other partners, Whenu was not spyware. Aluria took whenu out of its spyware definitions and its software would not detect it during a scan. However whenu is a well known distributor of adware and is on the list of many antispyware sites. No, this is not good for AOL.

EarthLink, the nations third largest ISP was the first to provide spyware protection late in 2003 when it began providing Spyware Blocker to their customers through their TotalAccess Software. EarthLink recently upgraded Spyware Blocker which now lets you schedule spyware scans and it performs real time scans much like most antivirus software does.

You can go to the EarthLink site and they will do a quick scan of your computer for spyware. Quick was an understatement, It took less than 10 seconds to scan my computer which has a 160 Gigabyte hard drive. I have seen many instances where computers that have Spy Blocker did not catch common spyware.

SBC Yahoo partnered with Pest Patrol and released its contender, Anti-Spy in August of last year. At initial release there was some controversy about Anti-Spy not detecting some spyware that it had a financial interest in. Anti-Spy scans your computer for possibly unwanted software, and allows you to review, remove, or add to the whitelist any applications that are found. If you accidentally delete something important, in many cases, SBC Yahoo! Anti-Spy can restore it.

Roadrunner offers free access to anti-virus and firewall protection as well as popup blockers provided by EZ Trust. I was surprised that you cannot find this offer on the local Roadrunner site. At the local site they tell you about other companies that offer free software such as AVGs antivirus software and Zone Alarms firewall but do not address the issue of spyware or offer any software directly from their local site.

You have to go to the National site and type antivirus into the search bar at the top of the page, click the search button and you are off on your way to downloading the EZ Trust suite of tools that includes a firewall, antivirus and spam blocker. You will need your Roadrunner user ID and password before you can begin the download.

Grande makes no mention of any online protection software offers to its customers.

GVC offers a spam blocker to its customers called Postini. This free service will store any suspected spam and keep it on GVCs servers for 14 days. GVC cautions it customers that this is not a substitute for an antivirus application.

Two things to remember:

• First off I would not hold it against an ISP if it did not offer some free online protection software. Most of the tools the ISPs are offering simply aren't enough for the job and are mere window dressing for its customers and potential customers.
• Secondly, when it comes down to it you are your own best watchdog. I recommend downloading a reputable antispyware application such as Spybot-S&D or Ad-Aware. While there are many programs out there these two are well known dependable and free. It is recommended that you run more than one program because unfortunately spyware or malware removal, unlike computer viruses, has not been nailed down to a science.

Stay tuned, next month I will review some of the top dogs in spyware removal.