This system was the most difficult so far (and it still has problems that I can’t resolve!)

Some of the malware found: doubiousHandle1, winantiviruspro2006, enconfidence, funweb, mywebsearch, hotbar, newsupdate, winantivirus2005pro, incredimail, and many others.

To remove it all, I first had to upgrade to SP2, and then install and run:

• Ewido
• Antivir
• AVG
• SpywareBlaster
• Spybot
• BHODemon
• Hijackthis

Most of the above found nasties that the others did not 🙁 

Since this was a dialup internet system, and since many problems resurfaced after my first visit, I took it to the office for a thorough clean (which I should have done at the start).

I also ran autopatcher to update it to the latest patches, before I connected it to my wireless network.

After I managed to cleanup everything I took the PC back, but then it had some modem problems… It wouldn’t connect… no dial tone… I was eventually told that the PC has a ‘strange’ modem… the ‘line in’ and ‘phone out’ plugs are reversed! I plug the phone line into the phone socket, and it then works!

A few days later, I get called because the computer is spontaneously starting when it is shutdown… I figure its a bios setting that ‘wakes’ the computer whenever an incoming call comes in.

I get there and yep, it is the bios setting, however, during some testing, I notice that the customers phone will divert to voicemail without the phone ringing… but if I unplug the modem, then the phone rings normally… even if the computer is shutdown!

Now this is just not worth tracking down! I tell the customer to disconnect the phone line when the internet is not in use (until they get broadband… then the problem should go away).

The PC is also slow to shutdown… and after all the tuning and malware removal, all I can suggest is a windows reinstall (which the customer cannot afford at the moment).