Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware saved my PC.
Recently my own PC somehow became infected with the MS Juan Vundo virus, a pesky Trojan horse virus that causes pop-up ads for, of all things, anti-spyware applications! It also causes the performance of your computer to become very slow.
A Vundo virus can come from an e-mail attachment or a Browser Helper Object (BHO), also known as a "plug-in", for the Internet Explorer browser. Toolbars such as the Yahoo! Toolbar are Browser Helper Objects. These BHO's open up vulnerable areas of the browser software and allow Trojan viruses and other malware to attach themselves to the browser.
While researching the problem on the internet I came across several mentions of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware as a possible solution. I downloaded the free version and gave it a try. I was actually stunned at the amount of malware that was found considering how careful I try to be on the internet. But I do share my computer with my wife, so I'll blame her.
Anyway, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware or MBAM as it's called really saved me from having to reinstall Windows XP and for that I am grateful. So because of that, I highly recommend having this software on your PC.
Click here to download the basic free version.
Or, click here for the more advanced version.
Once you have Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware downloaded, the last window of the download will prompt you to update MBAM as well as run the program by leaving the two checkboxes checked. Do this to make sure that MBAM has the latest updates. This is very important since new malware and viruses are being created on a daily basis.
Once the MBAM program opens you'll see the main window shown below. 
The first time that you run MBAM I suggest selecting the "Perform full scan" instead of the "Perform quick scan" just because it is more thorough. After selecting "Perform full scan" click on the "Scan" button and MBAM will begin scanning your files.
Depending on how much data you have on your PC, the full scan can take up to an hour or more. While scanning, it will show you the number of objects scanned, the number of objects infected (hopefully zero), and how much time has elapsed. It will also show you exactly which file or folder is being scanned. Unless you really want to, there's no reason to just sit and stare at it. Go do something else and come back later to see the results. Or, start the scan before going to bed and check it in the morning. 
When scanning has completed, you'll see the screen shown below showing the message "The Scan completed successfully. Click 'Show Results' to show all objects found". Click OK and then click the "Show Results" button.
The next screen will then show what MBAM found on your system. As you can see, MBAM found a couple of malware files on my PC. It also shows the path where the infected files are located.
At this point I want to click on the "Remove Selected" button to remove the infections.The next screen tells me that the selected items were removed successfully. A log is also created detailing what took place. Click OK and you will be taken back to the main MBAM window. 
If you are on the internet quite often, I suggest running an MBAM scan at least once per week, more if possible.
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