Discussion on:

10 ways to detect computer malware

I use three apps that have worked for me EVERY time. CCleaner to remove all the temp crap and allow the scans to run faster. Malwarebytes to scan and clean the infections. Then I install Microsoft Security Essentials to prevent future attacks. These have worked great for me and and I can clean a computer and have them running again in less than 30 minutes. Plus they're all free.

I have had the privileged in many of my job positions of being tauted as the "Virus/Malware King" in terms of removal. I personally find that in 95% of cases I can accomplish the necessary job of removing malware and viruses from machines that have known infections by utilizing the following tools.
* Spybot S&D - Prioform has many tools available, and I like SB's ability to identify root triggers and many other Start-up triggers through the "Advanced Tools". It's not too aggressive yet gives a great baseline.
* CCleaner - not only is this a great Registry Cleaner, it allows me to quickly find "other" associated registry references (often hidden) after I have identified & removed registry entries based off of my findings through SD.
* As mentioned SysInternals - Process Explorer allows me to see into the processes running and identify potential exploits that may have corrupted them.

The most annoying malware I've found (such as Antivirus 2010 exploit that hijacks .exe files) can be easily identified with these tools, and removed safely. In few instances a simple deletion of the users profile resolves the malware issue until further troubleshooting can continue.
As a side note - I've only had 3 systems in my 15 year career I had to "reimage" as a result of virus/malware attack.

I think Michael Kassner is right onto this he is 100% correct 10 ways to beat & stay one step ahead of them is to be well prepared for them.Follow
http://jeffreyobrien.blogspot.com/#comments

I have been a long time user of SAS but recently my friends got infected with data recovery virus and SAS hard difficulties attempting to remove it. I would try Spyware Doc w/ AV or MBAM.

Also, thanks for all the insight on this thread!