what's a safe way to remove malware/trojans from laptop?

[skim milk]

last time I used spybot and it totally messed up my computer. The computer wouldn't even boot before the blue screen of death appears so I'm very hesitant to use that program again. I had to restore so the popups are still present

I'm running XP Pro

 

[Iron Woode]

some infections aren't cleaned out properly and can have that effect when system files are compromised.

I like Malwarebytes Anti-malware.

search this forum for more info on cleaning up systems.

 

[mechBgon]

Start by backing up your stuff, just in case. Ripping out malware is not an inherently risk-free activity, so you either have to live with the malware or commit to some removal risks.

If it were me, I'd make an AntiVir Rescue CD and an F-Secure Rescue CD, boot the system from each of them, and scan it. Give the system a wired connection to the Internet so it can fetch fresh virus definitions.

Once that's done, boot into Windows and scan the system with Superantispyware and Malwarebytes.

Next, install Secunia's Personal Software Inspector, run a scan with it, and fix the vulnerabilities so this doesn't all happen again.



You can get AntiVir's Rescue CD in either .ISO format or in an .EXE that burns the CD directly: http://www.avira.com/en/support/support_downloads.html

F-Secure's Rescue CD is in .ISO format, burn it to CD with burner software: download from here

 

[Muse]

Bump for nice thread.