Prevention and Cleanup
This is a good time to round up the usual suspects: run Windows Update manually, adjust IE settings for high security, lower the size of the IE cache and the System Restore cache (XP and Me only), defrag, delete TEMP files and (for XP,2000) disable the Messenger service. Install an anti-virus product and get it up to date (bug fixes and virus definitions). Set both the anti-virus software and Windows Update for automatic updates. Needless to say, set up an anti-Spyware program to run in auto-protect mode.
For Windows XP and 2000, let me suggest setting task manager to run automatically in the system tray at boot time and train the user to watch for cpu spikes, a good first indicator of Spyware running in the background.
If ZoneAlarm is installed, set it to protect the Hosts file. If Norton AntiVirus is installed set a password for its configuration options. If your firewall allows, set a password on it to protect configuration changes. Likewise, the anti-Spyware software may also offer this feature.
Install the free SpywareBlaster program to update the kill bits in the registry and the IE Restricted Zone. This protection is partial, but better to have than not. Use it to make an IE settings snapshot backup.
Use my Java Tester web site to see which JVM, if any, is installed. If none, fine. If there is a Microsoft JVM, maybe upgrade to the current Sun JVM. This Macromedia page tells you the version of Flash that is installed and this page tells you what the latest Flash version is.
Install Firefox and a non-Microsoft email program (such as Thunderbird) and show the computer owner how to use them. Install the Flash plug-in for Firefox and possibly also Shockwave, Java and QuickTime. If the computer user is a beginner and unable or unwilling to deal with Firefox extensions, turn off the Firefox option that allows new extensions to be installed (Tools -> Options -> Web Features -> Allow web sites to install software). This should prevent future accidental software installs.
Show the user(s) how to back up their most important files (I teach a short class on backups, but only in New York City).
To prevent malware infections in the future, teach the user safe Internet techniques. The time spent here is probably well spent when compared to using software that automatically watches for new installs of malicious software (Spybot, BHODemon and the paid versions of Ad-aware can do this, among others). Any such software would need to be maintained and, when it finds something, the user may not fully understand the situation. Also, the software applies to a single computer, whereas safe computing habits apply everywhere. Along this line, I have a web page about recognizing and dealing with bad emails and maintain a page with malware links.
Whew.
