A handy feature in Spybot Search & Destroy is the ability to immunise Internet Explorer from known spyware threats. This will protect you from downloading and running malicious ActiveX controls or other programs from known malware websites.

Known malware sites are blocked by Spybot Search & Destroy installing a Browser Helper Object (BHO) called SDHelper.dll into Internet Explorer. Spybot will also add its known list of malware sites into your Restricted Sites section of Internet Explorer which removes all permissions to run web programs from that particular site.

Immunizing During Setup Process

Fig. 1 - Immunize

Immunising Internet Explorer may be done as part of the installation process. You will be presented with the option at the end of the setup wizard (Fig. 1).

Fig. 2 - Summary

Once this has successfully completed you will see a summary (Fig. 2).

Immunising After Installation

Fig. 3 - Main window

Accessing the Immunise feature after installation may be done by clicking the button in the left hand pane of the main window (Fig. 3). Click Check Again to update the program's immunisation database. If there are any new threats that you are not yet immunised against, click Immunize to protect yourself against them.

If you experience any problems, you can remove this protection at any time by clicking the Undo button.