Posted 07/18/2009 at 05:55:26pm

I agree, for the most part, that a clean reinstall is a good idea if your computer is heavily infected.  It really depends on the nature of the infection, though.  I recently had CyberDefender (a rogue anti-spyware program) on my PC and I decided the best thing to do was a clean reinstall of Windows Vista, update the drivers, install all Windows Updates, etc. not to mention the software that was installed.  Took me a few days, too.

It is also worth noting that the nature of malware is such that it will often prevent LEGITIMATE programs from detecting the malware, let alone removing it.  Also, much malware blocks you from going to security-related websites.  In my instance, NOTHING would detect the presence of CyberDefender and trying to uninstall it using Revo Uninstaller was ineffective because the registry entries and so on are still there.  I also had the iSearch toolbar on my computer once and nothing would detect it.

If your issue is related to toolbars/adware, you should download HijackThis! from Trend Micro.  It is really for advanced users, though.  But it will create a log file of processes and registry entries.  You just have to be careful which entries you delete because the Trend Micro product won't inform you which are legitimate and which are the result of the infection.

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (updated monthly) is a good tool but it won't remove adware.

Spybot Search & Destroy used to be highly recommended but I have found it to be an inferior product.  Your best bets are Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Super Anti-Spyware, and the other tools I mentioned.  AdAware is also declining in popularity and may actually conflict with other similar programs installed on your PC.

Finally, you might want to consider installing some of these programs and then burning them to disc and running them from the disc.  That's what I do with Super Anti-Spyware.

Feel free to visit http://fixpcdisasters.blogspot.com for more discussion (I apologize if posting this link is against forum rules.  If so, I won't mention it in the future.  My bad.).