It is best to steer clear of totally free spyware removal tools, as they could be useless or spywares themselves.

If a pop up does come through, avoid being tricked into clicking them. Use traditional means of closing them such as clicking on the X button on the upper corner of the window or by pressing ALT and F4. Be mindful of where you are clicking, since a lot of these ads will try to trick you by offering a “Click here to close this ad” link that installs code in your pc as it closes the window.

If other people are using your computer, make sure that they are aware of these security measures. No matter how careful you are,  it wouldn’t amount to much if someone else accidentally infects your computer with malicious code.