How do I remove cookies from my hard drive?

Spyware and adware are a continuing problem on Windows XP and other versions of Windows. Spyware is also a concern for Microsoft with regard to service pack updates; Barry Goff, a group product manager at Microsoft, said some spyware could cause computers to freeze up upon installation of Service Pack 2 . In January 2005, Microsoft released a free beta version of Microsoft AntiSpyware which attempts to remove spyware and adware from computers. Microsoft AntiSpyware has since been renamed to Windows Defender.