Think what you do on your computer is no one's business but your own? You might want to think twice. Thanks to the plethora of spyware lurking the Web, no one's Internet privacy is sacred.

You might think that the spyware horror stories you hear are nothing more than conspiracy theories designed to scare you into spending your hard-earned money on anti-spyware software. Unfortunately, that's not the case. The fact is that your PC has more than a 90-percent chance of being infected with spyware if it's hooked up to the Web - and that figure is from CNN, not some anti-spyware sales page.

To make matters worse, spyware authors are paying top-dollar to criminals who are willing to infect your PC with spyware. According to Vnunet.com, an informational website published by Incisive Media, spyware installations are big business. It's not uncommon for a criminal to make tens of thousands of dollars installing spyware on victims' PCs.

Fortunately, the anti-spyware market does offer many comprehensive anti-spyware programs to choose from. Sites like Star Reviews put the spyware offerings to the test, letting consumers know which ones deliver on what they promise and which are nothing more than a major resource drain. Turns out there are effective anti-spyware solutions available, and they don't cost an arm and a leg.