Hmmm, I remember reading that article when it came out. Spyware is something to take precautions against even when you're at home, not just because you're going to be visiting China.
If you're using a mac check out "
Little Snitch". It checks to see if any programs are attempting to connect to the internet; in some cases this can make attempts by any spyware to install themselves / connect to the internet more visible, and give you a chance to deny the access. (Not that there's a lot of mac spyware out there ...)
For Windows, I guess the best thing to do would be to keep your browser and antivirus software updated. I also turned off the autorun function for my CD drive and also for any USB drives that are inserted into my PC as that's one of the ways viruses etc can slip in.