Charlie Russel, Microsoft MVP for Windows Server, Security, and Tablet PC, writes:

You’ll find articles on the Expert Zone about how to help prevent spyware, viruses, and other unwanted or potentially unwanted software from invading your computer. Jerry Honeycutt’s Windows XP Service Pack 2 Strengthens the Defense against Spyware is a good introduction to the topic. And you can find lots of useful information about spyware and other potentially unwanted software on the Microsoft Security at Home: Spyware page.

But many people already have an infected PC. What can you do if you think your computer is affected by spyware or a virus or other malware? (Malware is short for malicious software.) First let me assure you that you aren’t in this alone. There are excellent resources and community sites dedicated to helping dig people out of the mess that malware can make. Many of them are free and I’ll point you to them in this column. I’ll also explain how to recognize if your computer has malware running on it and point you to antivirus programs and anti-spyware tools to help you get rid of it. And I’ll describe how to use recovery options that help get your PC back to working the way it’s supposed to. And, finally, I’ll talk about “The Last Resort” - rebuilding your PC from scratch.

[Continue reading Dealing with an infected PC]