Remove malware, without sacrificing your pet...

In my job as a computer consultant I encounter all sorts of bad software: viruses, trojans, adware, spyware, rouge antivirus, rootkits, etc., etc. You name it. If it's downloadable from a shady Russian pr0n site, I've had to remove it. Let me tell you though, some of this stuff is NOT fun to remove. Especially weird things like Browser Helper Objects.

Of course the easiest way to avoid dealing with this stuff is to block it from installing in the first place, and just leave it in the tubes where it belongs. I found that most home users just install a free antivirus (like AVG or Avira) and assume that will take care of everything, and in theory, they're right, but it doesn't seem to work that way very often. These antiviruses seem to do well at keeping actual viruses off the system, but not other types of Malicious software, especially rouge antiviruses. What can be even more frustrating is that a lot of times, these antiviruses detect threats, but then are unable to remove them, or say they've removed them but detect them again later.(BTW, I am not picking on free antivirus software; I happen to like Avira a lot. Some of the commercial antivirus software out there probably suffers from the same shortcomings. Free antiviruses are just what I encounter most often in my work.)

It seems that the more tech savvy public are catching on to the idea of separate anti-spyware scanners like AdAware AE and Spybot Search and Destroy to help them salt these cyber leeches. Which is good, but I have to be honest: I haven't found either of those programs to be very helpful in a long time. They both seem to have gotten bulkier as time goes on, but gotten less effective at removing the baddies. (Especially AdAware, talk about an 800 pound boa constrictor of a program! The initial update after install takes like an hour to download! A week after I installed it, my dog went missing. I became suspicious and pumped AdAware's stomach. Rest in peace Fluffy... rest in peace.) So where is a person to turn for quick, reliable, and free malware removal?

Behold:
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. I discovered Malwarebytes about 3 months ago and I love it! (Then why don't I marry it you ask? Don't think I won't! We're working out the legal stuff right now!) It's light weight, scans quickly, and is updated very regularly. It has an amazing knack for finding sneaky software that other scanners miss (and I don't mean cookies). I have yet to come up against a trojan, BHO, rootkit, etc. it will not remove on the first attempt. And as an added bonus it's free! This is the Chuck Norris of malware removers (except for the free part because, as you know, anyone who messes with Chuck Norris will pay.)

Note: You can pay for an upgraded version that has a scheduler and a real-time protection module.

THE POINT
If you work on other peoples computers, give Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware a spin. I can almost guarantee you'll find it helpful. And even if you are an uber-L337 nerd ninja who runs a super clean machine, hit the link below, give it a download, and see if it doesn't find something your other scanners missed.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

In loving memory of Fluffy. You will be missed...