I have recently observed many PCs that have been infected by the trojan known as “Personal Antivirus.” Let me tell you, this seems like a nasty bug at first, but with the right tools and a cool head it’s rather simple to remove.

You will know if you have this trojan from a few simple key obervations. The first and most obvious is that the program will appear in your Start Menu as well as the Add/Remove Programs list. The second is that it will take over your Internet Explorer windows, and keep directing you to “about:blank.” The last is that you will notice a new popup near the clock on your machine that will continually warn you of viruses and spyware that are trying to download your passwords, or trying to control your machine.

The good news is that this evil little bug can be removed competely with two free programs. I recommend Spybot Search and Destroy as the first program to use. Simply install it, run the updates on it, and scan your machine. Spybot will remove a large amount of junk that is just sitting there. The second program recommend is called Malewarebytes. After you install this program, run the updates, and then do a full system scan. This application will get a few small files that spybot may have missed the first time around.

After you’ve completed these steps, all you need to do is restart your computer and you are back in business!

Chuck Lindblom

Your PC could be hosting spyware or adware programs without your knowledge. These small applications, installed knowingly or unknowingly by the user (adware licenses are often buried inside the End User License Agreements of some software packages like file sharing software) and can pass information on your web surfing habits, among other things, to advertising companies, and enable them to target advertising based on your habits.

These programs can also consume valuable system resources. While not specific to Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista, removing Spyware and adware from your computer is an excellent step towards better PC health.

You can check for these programs by downloading either LavaSoft’s Ad-Aware or Spybot Search and Destroy, or both. Run these programs and update them via the built in interface, then check your system for spyware and adware programs. By running these programs on a regular basis your computer will run better.

Rob Ljunggren