Nasty spyware problem

[Highlord Laan]

Ok. I don't download a dammed thing unless I trust the site it's coming from, and even then, I scan it with Norton first. I run Adblock Puls on Firefox, and regularly scan for both Malware using Malwarebytes, and virus scan with Norton. I keep both updated.

Now, yesterday I spent two hours battling "Antispyware Soft" a nasty embedded spyware program that bombards me with false alerts and drops programs left and right. I though I managed to root it out last night and kill it. Computer has been working great all day with no problems.

Then, I got to Newegg to search for some new components, and the dammed program -Antispyware Soft- pops up again, brushing past everything and blocking me from doing pretty much everything.

First: how the hell does thing thing keep infecting my computer and second, how the hell can I get rid of it without going nuclear and reformatting my HD?

And finally: Someone needs to find the assholes that make programs like this and smash their fingers with a ball peen hammer.

[Tanasinn]

I scan it with Norton first.

This is your first problem. Get a real anti-virus program, like Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast! Antivirus. Both are far better than Norton, and both are free. A more knowledgable friend I have favors MSE as being the better choice to virus and malware issues.

First: how the hell does thing thing keep infecting my computer and second, how the hell can I get rid of it without going nuclear and reformatting my HD?

I dunno specifically. From my layman's understanding, programs like this tend to stick themselves somewhere secure where the anti-virus isn't allowed to go or where they can simply reinstall themselves after a reboot. Your latter options are limited - you might post a HijackThis log and hope someone with more competence than I can point out the problem, or you could take it to a professional and brace yourself for the worst. Most cases, a malicious program getting past your computer's defenses means that you have to pave it. Whatever you do, don't take it to the mouth-breathers at Best Buy or any other big box store.

And finally: Someone needs to find the assholes that make programs like this and smash their fingers with a ball peen hammer.

I agree.

[Edi]

Standard procedure in cases like this is that if trying to remove them with multiple methods fails and you don't find a specific removal tool for the malware, you nuke and reinstall the entire operating system.

Always, when in doubt, nuke and reinstall.

It also won't help you squat if you have up to date antivirus programs if you have otehr unpatched security vulnerabilities. This means religiously updating Java, Flash, Adobe Reader and other ubiquitous software on your machine. They have had numerous security vulnerabilities exposed in the past year and by all indications, more are in the offing.