Thanks for all of the responses. I, too, had been under the impression that both Spybot and Adaware were becoming left behind. I know that there was a long stretch of months, some time in the past when Spybot didn’t seem to be getting updated. But when I started to redo the setup on this machine I discovered that both of those programs had recent new releases.

I AM mainly considering freeware alternatives, and also, since my hardware is a few years old I am also a bit concerned about bloatware. It seems like Adaware trying to also be an antivirus program could lead to it being in conflict with a regular antivirus program. Also, I wonder whether I should be looking for a spyware/malware fighter that is ONLY as scanner. Are not ones with “active” prevention more likely to conflict with a program like Avast’s antivirus which has its own active prevention processes?

I also use CCleaner, so perhaps it is cleaning the tracking cookies, which the earlier antispyware verstions I used would itemize and then zap.