Spyware and Adware Another Reason to Backup Your Machine SUMMARY: If a spyware attack forces you to re-format your machine, don't lose access to your critical files.   The threats of spyware and adware are another good reason for backing up data files (songs, photos, word processing documents, etc.) on your machine. Some malware threats may hook themselves deep within your operating system's internals. While Spybot and Ad-Aware can get rid of many malware threats, others may require so much manual work to remove them that re-installing your operating system may seem like a good idea instead of spending hours (days?) of research and work. The re-install of an operating system can sometimes be a risky process and may cause your machine to become unbootable. If this happens, sometimes the only option is to format your machine and start over clean. Without a backup, your data files would be lost. A good backup can save you a lot of time and aggravation should you decide or need to wipe a heavily infected computer clean (via a format) and start over.   Add: Del.icio.us | Digg | Furl | My Yahoo!   Discuss This Tip Print This Tip Get E-Mail When New Tips are Online Return to the Spyware and Adware page.