If you are very concerned about malware on your system and already have a couple of programs to scan for such programs, another anti-spyware package you might want to try is Malwarebytes.
From their description:
Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware can detect and remove malware that even the most well known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to detect. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware monitors every process and stops malicious processes before they even start. The Realtime Protection Module [available in the pro version] uses our advanced heuristic scanning technology which monitors your system to keep it safe and secure.
I recently used this application to remove a rather nasty piece of spyware from a relative’s machine and it worked great. I have found, typically, that certain anti-spyware programs are better than others for particular infections so this may be one you want to consider in the future.
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I can recommend this too. I recently got my first infection in a long time- Anti-Virus 2008 and after several attempts at a manual clean from advice posted on the web, I was pointed to Malwarebytes and along with Smitfraudfix (Smitfraud is a Trojan associated with malware that claims to protect and clean your machine) it did the job admirably.
I’m seriously considering the upgrade to pro for realt-time protection.
I recently discovered this program while looking for a solution to clean a machine from a friend. It had an alleged anti-spyware program that kept telling him that the computer was infected and made it run very slowly. A quick Google search revealed that it was a bogus program and among the results the solution was this Malwarebytes program that worked perfectly and solved a few other things that were previously undiscovered.
I’ve been using and recommending Malwarebytes for about six months now. It’s good stuff. I’ve also used Smitfraudfix on clients’ machines, and agree with Paul on its effectiveness.
For really hard-core cases I recommend Malwarebytes along with SDFix. SDFix is a bundle containing Sophos AVS DOS scanner, A-Squared AVS DOS scanner, Kaspersky online scanner, and Norman (NOT Norton) Malware Cleaner. If you can connect the hard drive to another machine running AVG or Avast, you may find even more infections.
My all-time cleanup record is 157 instances of malware, viruses and trojans on a Win 2K box that had done extensive file-sharing with no AVS or firewall. It was so infected it wouldn’t boot.
As always, disable System Restore so it doesn’t automatically restore the nasties when you reboot. Once you’ve cleaned it, reboot, then re-enable System Restore.
Thanks for your information,I will have a try.