How to: Whats the best software to remove adware, spyware and malware?

So you're surfing the internet, but you constantly are getting these annoying pop-ups to buy the latest free antivirus. You simply close the pop-up and continue on.
Or your computer seems t be running slow even after you cleaned out the trash folder and the hard drive appears to be very busy accessing files.

Or you're on Youtube and you get a pop-up which informs you that your Java needs to be updated. You try to close the pop-up but are unable to. You actually have close and restart your browser!

Three different scenarios typically caused by three separate malicious programs. To remove the unwanted programs, lets go over what each program actually does.

Adware is any software that, once installed on your computer, tracks your internet browsing habits and sends you popups containing advertisements related to the sites and topics you've visited. While this type of software may sound innocent, and even helpful, it consumes and slows down your computer's processor and internet connection speed. 

Spyware - Once installed on a system they run in background and keep on collecting user’s personal data. These data can include your credit card numbers, passwords, important files and many other personal stuff. CoolWebSearch is an example of spyware and is noted by Webroot as the most dangerous programs involving spyware.

Malware is short for malicious software. Malware is a pretty broad term that encompasses computer viruses, worms, 'Trojan horses', and others. Malware is designed to interfere with normal computer operation, usually giving hackers a chance to gain access to your computer. The Mydoom virus of 2004 was noted as the fastest attack of malware ever seen creating havoc across over 1 million computers around the world..

Windows Defender used to be a recommended program for removing adware and spyware. If you're running a Windows machine running Vista or later it comes pre installed. However it's lost out to other third party vendors as it does not offer the strong protection and is not as thorough as it used to be. So which security suite is recommended?

Top brands for antivirus / antispyware are Trend Mico, AVG, Symantec Norton, Panda or Mcafee.

Others not so well known are Bitdefender, Avira, Kapersky Lab and F-Secure.

Definition File
Any antivirus/antispyware depend on whats called a 'definition' file. This file essentially contains a list of virus signatures which have been caught on the internet. 

This list is then used by the software. Its important that the definition file is updated on daily basis. Most antivirus / antispyware software have this done automatically.

Whats the best one?
Two major independent firms test antivirus / antispyware to see where they stand against attacks and threats and how well they protect your system. AV Comparatives is one of the companies which puts each program through a battery of tests.

AV-test.org stress-tested these suites between September 2013 and February 2014. Here’s the virus detection rate of all of the suites. Larger numbers are better

Out of the 9 Antivirus/Antispyware programs Bitdefender, Kaspersky and Trend Micro all ranked the highest in protecting your system. Most of these companies release free or trial versions of their antivirus / antispyware programs. 

It's no guarantee that any of the programs that have performed well n the past will continue to do so, but one thing is sure......that viruses and spyware will continue to infiltrate the internet and attack computers worldwide, so it's best to have your computer protected and secure.