Panda Security from Best Malware Removal Tools
Great free malware removal tool. It practically does not consume PC resources, transferring its basic work to remote servers. The utility protects your email from spam and allows you to surf the Internet privately and securely. The product installs quickly and with no hassle. Try it and you won’t regret it
Comments
I voted for HJT just because it's saved my ass on multiple occasions, plus it makes it really easy to kill simple virus after effects such as a modified HOSTS file. Runner up I'd say is ComboFix, though as a general solution MB is a great one. It's worth noting that both HiJackThis and ComboFix can permanently ruin your computer if you aren't experienced at using them.
I voted for Spybot because I've had it since forever; however, since I changed the settings for how my computers accept cookies, Spybot has not found anything in many years. I use both XP Home and Vista Home Premium. I continue to upgrade Spybot and it continues to find nothing. Sometimes I wonder if it is working.
Spybot S&D, Lavasoft Ad-Aware, AVG Free antivirus, Zonealarm free firewall, and most of all - Stop suing Internet Exploder - get Firefox, Opera, Chrome, et al, and USE them.
Wasn't there just a report that firefox actually had by far the most unfixed security holes of all the major browsers?
No, that report said it had the most reported bugs and it also said Mozilla fixes bugs the fastest out of any browser developer.
Usually Ad-Aware just gets cookies because that's all that's left after using Spybot - but there are circumstances where it'll find something Spybot missed...I've heard Ccleaner is good, too, haven't tried it yet
No. There are periodic reports that say some variation of that theme, but the Firefox guys fix holes much faster than Microsoft. Also, there are basic architectural considerations - if MSIE hits a page that wants to download and install a plug-in to play content, it does so silently. Firefox tells me whenever a website wants to install a plug-in - cuts down the ability to do drive-by malware installations tremendously.