Recently I read your article on removing spyware and malware from the computer. As per your recommendation, I downloaded and installed Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, and Windows Defender. These programs managed to remove most of the spyware on the computer. However, upon restarting two spyware infections returned: ‘WinAntiVirusPro 2006′ and ‘DriveCleaner’. Subsequently, every time I scan the system for spyware these two threats are detected and removed, but always reappear following a restart. Even running the scans in Safe Mode has not been able to completely remove them. How can I remove these two infections for good? A second question relates to networking. At the moment I am attempting to network two computers in the house. I have connected the computers using a hub, but when the computers are linked together they report limited or no connectivity. How can I fix this issue?

As you have discovered, some spyware can be rather persistent and quite difficult to remove. When spyware appears to have been removed but then returns, this normally indicates a component of the spyware remains and following a reboot, this component reinstalls the spyware. The most common way to prevent this from happening is to run the spyware scan through Safe Mode. However, you have commented the problem still occurs after running the scans in Safe Mode, which likely means the spyware is more deeply integrated into Windows. When researching the removal of these two infections, it became apparent this can be quite a complicated process. Therefore the most efficient method to help you resolve this issue is to provide you with some links to forum discussions about how to remove these infections from your computer. Dealing first with WinAntiVirus Pro 2006, there is a good discussion at forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/320075 on removing this threat. Another good discussion is on the Lavasoft (makers of Ad-Aware) forums: www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=3615 . The discussion in both threads lead to the resolution of the problem, so hopefully they should provide you with some useful guidance for resolving your incarnation of this problem.

Next, we need to address the procedure for removing the DriveCleaner infection. This is likely to be more difficult, since there is less useful information available on removing this threat. That said, I have found some useful forum posts with information which may be useful. First, have a look at the following post in the Lavasoft forums: www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=2451 . Should you still have problems, you could attempt a manual removal of DriveCleaner. The eTrust Spyware Encyclopedia has a good overview of the files, directories and registry entries which DriveCleaner modifies: www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/pest.aspx?id=453099449 . If you can boot into Windows Safe Mode, you could try manually removing the references outlined in the eTrust article. Just be careful, especially when modifying the registry, not to change anything else apart from that specified in the article, as it could have significant adverse consequences for your computer. In either case, make sure you have a backup of all your important data before proceeding, in case something goes horribly wrong (which is always a possibility when modifying registry and system files). This is a definite proceed at your own risk procedure.

Turning to your second question regarding the limited connectivity message when networking two computers. This message indicates that while a physical network connection has been established, the network connection is not operating correctly. The most likely cause is the networked computer(s) with the message have not been assigned an IP address. The IP address is the network address of the computer, which is required so networked computers can talk to each other. If you were using a router (such as a broadband or ADSL router to share internet) these devices normally include a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server. This server will automatically assign IP addresses to each attached computer. However, since you are only using a hub, this device has no concept of any sort of network addressing - it simply provides a physical network link between the connected computers. Therefore, your best option in this case is to manually assign an IP address to each computer. On each computer, go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Control Panel’ and open the ‘Network Connections’ control panel (you may need to first click the ‘Network and Internet Connections’ category). Right-click on the Local Area Connection and select ‘Properties’. In the window that appears, click the ‘General’ tab. Highlight ‘Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)’ and click ‘Properties’. On the ‘General’ tab, first note down the existing settings on each computer (as you may need to reinstate the settings later). Then, enable ‘Use the following IP address’. For the IP address on one computer, set the address as 192.168.1.2 and set the other computer as 192.168.1.3. For the ‘Subnet Mask’, configure both computers as 255.255.255.0. For the ‘Default Gateway’, set both computers as 192.168.1.1 (this probably won’t be used, since you only seem to have a two computer network, but it needs to be configured anyway). Finally, for the sake of completeness, enable ‘Use the following DNS server addresses’ and for the ‘Preferred DNS server’ enter 192.168.1.1. Leave the ‘Alternate DHS server’ blank. Click OK and then OK again. Once this has been done on both computers, they should be able to talk to each other.

Be aware, this setup above will only get both computers talking to each other. If you need to share internet or alike you will need further setting changes. Furthermore, if you use the network outlet on one (or both) of the computers for broadband internet, you will need to change the settings back to their original values before attempting to connect the internet back to the computers, since these new settings will not work for internet.