Good Malware Removal Guide

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:47 pm

I haven't kept mine up to date lately, but this is a very good one. It's basically what I do except that instead of SuperAntiSpyware, I use Trojan Remover.

http://www.selectrealsecurity.com/malware-removal-guide

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:55 pm

After reading this, why do they say this:

Download TFC (Temp File Cleaner) and save it to your desktop. If you have CCleaner installed, you can use that instead, but do not use the registry cleaner.

I always use CCleaner and I use it on the registry as well. Any idea why they would say that?

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:59 am

Not sure, other than there are two schools of thought on registry cleaning. Some people don't believe in it.

I don't like registry cleaning myself because I think 99% of the cleaners out there don't do it right. I have never had a problem with CCLeaner and I use it on my client's PCs as part of regular maintenance and on my own PCs. HOWEVER I also use the feature in CCLeaner that backs up the registry entries it will delete, in case I ever have to undo what it did (never have). I also use ERUNT to backup a client's 0 entire registry before I do anything else (it's #1 on my checklist). ERUNT has bailed me out MANY times. Often I'll have a client with an unbootable OS - possibly due to registry corruption. It might be so bad that I can't even get System Restore to work, but if there's an ERUNT backup from even 6 months or a year ago, I can restore that and get the system up and running, and THEN use system restore if necessary.

ANYWAY, while I think CCLeaner's registry cleaning has little actual performance benefit (the only reason your desktop feels snappier after a registry cleaning is because the registry files have been cached by Windows after a cleaning) I DO believe that over time (years) your registry grows and will eventually impact performance since these registry files can get pretty large.

I do believe that any registry cleaner that you pay for is not worth it, if not an outright scam. CCleaner is a proven free product that's been around a long time. I only worry that every time they release an update, they may accidentally screw something up.