I have Ad-Aware and Spybot seach and Destroy on my computer. These two are very good but one has to start them manually are there any similar programmes that do the same job, but kick in automatically when a threat kicks in?
Yes, no problem to have spywareblaster, Adaware, Spybot, AVG and ZoneAlarm - I have used all of these programs together for a long time without problems.
As I am 'belt and braces' I also like to run A2 once a week - another excellent program. Try A2 Free 3:
Ad-Aware: If you pay for it, there are various ways to get it to do its stuff automatically.
Spybot: Switch to "Advanced" mode. From there, you can set up all sorts of automation. Also, the "immunisation" feature should work in a similar way to "Spyware Blaster" if activated (which I think it is by default).
Spyware Blaster: Great prog, but don't forget to update it regularly. You have to do this manually unless you use the paid-for version.