Gnomie Johnathan Brooks of No Stress Design writes:

1. AVG or avast! (anti-virus): Block the problem before it starts.

2. HijackThis (cleaning/removing tool): This is a great tool for people who know how to use it and know what they are doing. There is a Web site that you can load your log file into and it will tell you what’s good or bad via a raiding system. Hijack This is a free anti-spyware program for computer experts. If you paid for HijackThis, you were either scammed or sold something else. HijackThis does not automatically remove bad things, you need to decide for yourself what is good or bad in the scan results.

   If you found HijackThis on your system and you did not put it there, someone else did. HijackThis is not automatically installed, ever. If you recently brought your computer in for repairs or upgrading or fixing, or someone helped you clean up the computer of malware, most likely they installed HijackThis and forgot to remove it. Best Buy’s Geeksquad uses HijackThis, and most likely other computer shops do, too.

3. CCleaner (system optimization/privacy tool): CCleaner removes unused files from your system — allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it’s fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO spyware or adware!
4. Ad-Aware (anti-spyware/anti-adware): Always a must to keep you clean. Without it you may have pop-ups all over the place.
5. Windows firewall/hardware firewall: A firewall’s basic task is to regulate some of the the flow of traffic between computer networks of different trust levels. Typical examples are the Internet, which is a zone with no trust, and an internal network, which is a zone of higher trust.

   A zone with an intermediate trust level, situated between the Internet and a trusted internal network, is often referred to as a “perimeter network” or demilitarized zone (DMZ). A firewall’s function within a network is similar to firewalls with fire doors in building construction. In the former case, it is used to prevent network intrusion to the private network. In the latter case, it is intended to contain and delay structural fire from spreading to adjacent structures.

   Without proper configuration, a firewall can often become worthless. Standard security practices dictate a “default-deny” firewall ruleset, in which the only network connections that are allowed are the ones that have been explicitly allowed. Unfortunately, such a configuration requires detailed understanding of the network applications and endpoints required for the organization’s day-to-day operation. Many businesses lack such understanding, and therefore implement a “default-allow” ruleset, in which all traffic is allowed unless it has been specifically blocked. This configuration makes inadvertent network connections and system compromise much more likely. There are many firewalls out there for free.

Extra tip #6: Don’t just let the programs sit there. Use them, scan as often you can (I don’t mean go crazy every two hours). I scan with all of these programs once a week. Some, like the AVG, automatically scans each night.