Cleaning Up a Spyware Infestation Without Removal Tools

I feel like a broken record, what with constantly recommending software like AdAware and Spybot every time I write about malware infestations.

But to be honest, third-party tools like these can't save you every time. Why? Because malware programmers are so crafty they've engineered ways to sneak around the antispyware tools. Plus, there's just so much malware on the market that no single tool can hope to catch all of it. (That's why I recommend installing two tools.)

What should you do when you encounter malware you can't remove with Spybot or AdAware? Historically I've turned users on to HijackThis, a specialized tool that gives you an in-depth look at everything running on your computer, plus has an ace up the sleeve: A deep community of experts who are willing to analyze HijackThis logs and help you remove spyware from a PC by providing step by step instructions and links to specialized tools designed to remove specific infestations. (I haven't tried it extensively, but you can also check out Microsoft's own Autoruns tool, which is a lot like HijackThis but has extra features, like letting you search online to see what any running process actually is, but doesn't have the deep user community of HijackThis. Both tools are free.)

Finally I'm getting to the point of this post, though, and that's a link and tip of the hat to Jeff Atwood, who's put together an extensive guide for removing spyware (on Windows XP) without any help from the outside or .

In this extensive post, Atwood deliberately infects a system with spyware, then shows you step by step how to remove it completely. Bear in mind this is not for the faint of heart. The instructions require a decent amount of knowledge about basic Windows operations, but Atwood's instructions are detailed and quite clear. With patience, I expect any reasonably experienced user could complete this task in less than an hour. (Note you will have to download Autoruns, as discussed above, as well as Process Explorer, both tools from Microsoft which help you ferret out services that shouldn't be running and put a stop to them.)

Be sure to read the comments for important caveats on when this system will and won't work. Regardless, you should always start with Spybot/AdAware first... if they don't solve your problem, Atwood's tips might be the best second step.

Related: My step-by-step guide for novices on how to remove spyware (primarily using third-party tools)

LINK: How to Clean Up a Windows Spyware Infestation