i wanted to know if there was any antispyware that could detect spyware as soon as it starts accessing my pc.. like a virus detector..
i do have zone alarm which indirectly solves the problem. but i'd like to have options nonetheless...Probably tthe best on the market is Webroot SpySweeper but it's not free. Pest Patrol was also faily good but that seems to have slipped in the rankings a little. Microsofts Defender has real time protection and is free but it has quite a few problems. It's built around the now defunct Giant Anti Spyware application and it's still in beta. I neither trust nor would I recommend the Microsoft offering.

Javacools SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard are both free and effective as is Spybot and Ad-Aware. A well MAINTAINED [highlight]HOSTS[/highlight] file will go a long way towards preventing infection.

Kaspersky AV run with it's redundant database stops most malware dead in it's tracks.I use Spybot Search & Destroy's Immunize feature.  I just found this reference with screen prints and an explanation of how to use Immunize: Preventing spyware with Spybot's Immunize functionCorrect me if I'm wrong, but Spybot S&D (which I use) only immunizes attacks against Internet Explorer, not Firefox.

ctrlaltdel, try Spybot Resident Teatimer and/or Prevx (cool NAME eh?), they will both tell you when something TRIES to MAKE a change to your computer.
So will WinPatrol, it's very user friendly but the warnings are time delayed.
If I had to pick only 1 program for antispyware I'd choose Spybot at the moment.
Spybot needs to be run in Advanced Mode and fully explored to get the best out of it.The SpywareBlaster does work with FireFox, FoxFire,....whatever..ya get my meaning.
 I use it, along with A2Squared, ZoneAlarm Firewall, & AVG antivirus. All free versions & the only thing I ever find(so far!) are tracking cookies listed sometimes. I run Win 2000Pro/IE