Many people will fire up their anti-spyware programs and perform a scan in the background while checking email, surfing the web or watching YouTube videos. This isn’t really a good idea, for several reasons which can affect the thoroughness of the scan.
For best results, it’s best to shut down Internet Explorer, Firefox, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and any other applications that access the Internet before initiating a scan. Some people I know even go so far as to disconnect their Internet connections completely by logging off of their dial-up connections or unplugging their cable / DSL modems.
Windows and the programs that run on it can work in mysterious ways, and I believe it’s always good to err on the side of caution when it comes to protecting your computer from malware, and yourself from identity thieves and scammers.
I am guilty of that. If my computer is on, I am connected.