OverK1ll, I agree with you in principle, MSSE is only mediocre at best. What few programs do is keep you from installing the spyware...if one says "yes" to installing something, side-ware/malware is often along for the ride from popular sites like CNET or download.com. Since the behavior was "Yes, I wan't this software", it's on there.
The better programs disallow it from running...beyond the human behavior. I've found Vipre to be crucial by keeping any of these processes from running, thus keeping the PC clean and avoiding the headache you're currently experiencing.
Not one of the nasties ever had the chance to infect the PC as Vipre caught them all from running, a safety-net approach if you will, and most times sweeps them off the PC after a sweep is invoked. After a sweep or two, sometimes using another freebie such as Eset/MWB/SAS/etc the PC has the garbage removed from the local disks.
Dunno how Vipre gets such low ratings, it's been a great Swiss Army Knife over the years, especially the uplevel Internet Security version, which adds more features and the slick Auto Patching mechanism to auto update all other non-MS software on the computer. Great for keeping Flash, Java, Firefox, Seamonkey, etc up to date.
The better programs disallow it from running...beyond the human behavior. I've found Vipre to be crucial by keeping any of these processes from running, thus keeping the PC clean and avoiding the headache you're currently experiencing.
Not one of the nasties ever had the chance to infect the PC as Vipre caught them all from running, a safety-net approach if you will, and most times sweeps them off the PC after a sweep is invoked. After a sweep or two, sometimes using another freebie such as Eset/MWB/SAS/etc the PC has the garbage removed from the local disks.
Dunno how Vipre gets such low ratings, it's been a great Swiss Army Knife over the years, especially the uplevel Internet Security version, which adds more features and the slick Auto Patching mechanism to auto update all other non-MS software on the computer. Great for keeping Flash, Java, Firefox, Seamonkey, etc up to date.