Removing spyware from multipler user accounts

[Ed Kemper]

Have a question regarding spyware removal that I hope someone here can help me
with. If there are several user accounts on a Windows XP Home Edition system
and each one has been online and been infected with spyware, do I need to log
on to each user account and perform spyware removal? Or can I log as the
administrator and do it once?

I realize this is probably quite simple but the truth is I've never set up
multiple user accounts on my own PC, this is someone else's computer I'm
trying to clean up.

Thanks for any tips!

 

[Guest]

Just once from the adminstrator account.

 

[Malke]

Just once from the adminstrator account.

Actually, "just once" isn't true. Ad-aware now says it will take care of
all accounts at once, but other removal tools don't. And I find that
even Ad-aware finds things in individual user accounts after cleaning
out the main account. If you are doing a thorough cleaning of the
machine, it is a good idea to log into each user's account and remove
all Temporary, Temporary Internet files, run Ad-aware and Spybot, and
check what is starting up with Windows. I normally log into the main
account in Safe Mode and manually delete things, but I don't suggest an
end user do that. Use XP's built-in Disk Cleanup instead.

Malke

 

[D.Currie]

Have a question regarding spyware removal that I hope someone here can
help me
with. If there are several user accounts on a Windows XP Home Edition
system
and each one has been online and been infected with spyware, do I need to
log
on to each user account and perform spyware removal? Or can I log as the
administrator and do it once?

I realize this is probably quite simple but the truth is I've never set up
multiple user accounts on my own PC, this is someone else's computer I'm
trying to clean up.

Thanks for any tips!

Most of it will be removed from one account, but things that run from the
registry hive Current User are usually not recognized unless that user is
logged in.

Depends what scanner tool you're using, too, and what spyware. Some of it is
easy to kill, others do a better job of hiding.

Best bet is to run the tools in each logon.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Have a question regarding spyware removal that I hope someone here can help me
with. If there are several user accounts on a Windows XP Home Edition system
and each one has been online and been infected with spyware, do I need to log
on to each user account and perform spyware removal? Or can I log as the
administrator and do it once?

I realize this is probably quite simple but the truth is I've never set up
multiple user accounts on my own PC, this is someone else's computer I'm
trying to clean up.

I would do it from the Administrator account in the first instance, but
then log on to user accounts in turn and do a precautionary scan to make
sure. Some things might get into a user account and not be picked up in
the overall one