A Can of Whoopass for Spyware and Other Assorted Yukkies

[soup]

My grandson's PC was full of nasties - the final straw was a critter that would pop up and shut the system down - rendering it totally useless.

They brought the computer over so I could check it out (like I know anything about computers ha ha ha ha). What a mess - worms, a trojan, a browser highjacker, porn pop-ups (just what every 9 year old needs, ugh) - you name it, there it was.

2 days later and I'm pretty sure his yuck-free computer is ready to go home. (doing the 'go gramma' victory dance)

It's now armed with a Zone Alarm firewall, Spybot S&D, Pop-up Stopper, automatic updater (spent almost 3 hours downloading and installing critical updates), and his task manager is set up for disk clean-up and defrag on a schedule.

I left a notepad of notes on the desktop for his parents to help them keep it clean - (they also need to renew the Norton updater).

Have I forgotten anything? Time (and/or helpful DUers) will tell.

Thought I'd share some of the sites and goodies I found helpful.

If you have others to add, please do.

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Spybot S&D - how sweet is this?

Spybot Search and Destroy! Home Page (free - please donate if you can)
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=home

Spybot (Net-Integration) Forums
http://forums.net-integration.net/
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Lavasoft - AdAware Home Page (has free version
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/



ZoneLabs Zone Alarm Firewall Home Page (has free version
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp



Pop-Up Stopper (free - oh, how I love that word)
http://www.panicware.com/


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PC Hell: Computer Hints and Tips to bring you back from the edge
http://www.pchell.com/


PC Hell Spyware Removal Help
http://www.pchell.com/support/spyware.shtml

PestPatrol Online Spyware Scanner
http://www.pchell.com/pestscan/#

PC Hell links to other good references

Port Forward - setting up router or firewall help
soup note: I haven't got a Clue what they're talkin about. I need an interpreter for this stuff.
http://www.portforward.com/

PC Help
soup note: Appears to be written in English (IOW- hey, I can understand this!
http://pchelp4free.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
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Trend Micro (HouseCall) Free Online Virus Scan
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Trend Micro Virus Encyclopedia
http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/virusencyclo/
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Sygate Online Services - Online scans
http://scan.sygate.com/


Computer Virus Info
http://anti-virus.com/

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AVG Anti-Virus (has free version
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php

free version download page
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php
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Norton
http://www.symantec.com/index.htm

Norton (Symantec) Online Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/home.asp?j=1&langid=ie&venid=sym&close_parent=true&plfid=23&pkj=WORYZMRMKBWGZKMRYLL
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RAV Anti-virus (has Online Scanner
http://www.ravantivirus.com/pages/



Tweak3D Article on How to Eliminate Spyware, Adware, Random Popups
http://www.tweak3d.net/articles/spyware/index.shtml



TweakXP News Tweaks and Tips for WindowsXP users
http://www.tweakxp.com/


Tech Support Guy Forums
"There's no such thing as a stupid question, but they're easier to answer" LOL
http://forums.techguy.org/