how to make sure the pc is OK after heavy browsing

we had a guest who had to do lot of research and browsing for a whole day..

next day (yesterday), i saw that there was an automatic popup that was not controllable.. i tried to close it but could not.. also it did not seem like an ordinary regular window we are used too,..

i shut down the machine right away.. i booted it today to see if i will see the symtoms yet.. i do not see any.. i am not browsing.. just waiting to see if anything will happen..

i am typing this from another pc..

what tool would you recommend to make sure the pc is kosher and that nothing is hiding etc

thanks

LVL 5

25112Asked: 2012-12-27

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LVL 108

JohnBusiness Consultant (Owner)Commented: 2012-12-27

First, and most unfortunately, NO tool protects against a lack of common sense. A lack of common sense runs rampant in the browsing community.

Second, a good paid commercial antivirus suite should be installed. Stay away from free products. I use Symantec Endpoint Protection V12.2 and it is excellent.

Third, in Windows 7, set UAC to its highest setting. Make CERTAIN it is not turned off. Also, make the userid being used is User (most restrictive).

Nothing can be installed this way and most things cannot be tried.

If necessary, implement parental controls in Internet Explorer. Yes, some adults conduct themselves like children.

Most of the above will help immensely but is no substitute for common sense.

.... Thinkpads_User

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LVL 25

Tony GiangrecoCommented: 2012-12-27

Here is a top notch site and posting for cleaning anything relaeetd to spyware or viruses from your pc:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

LVL 15

alienvoiceCommented: 2012-12-27

Unfortunately if your computer is infected with malware or a virus, any product you install can be thwarted or compromised. You'll never be 100% sure I'm afraid. I'd recommend a rebuild but if you do not wish to go this far.

As Thinkpad suggested a good commercial anti virus, such as SEPM or Kaspersky could be installed.

You could also run Spybot or Ad-aware to help remove a lot of spyware. Links provided below.

Spybot
http://www.safer-networking.org/dl/

Ad-aware
http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware.php