You're working at your computer when you realize something is not right; you're plagued with messages warning you that you may be infected. It's clear that you've been hit by malware. But where do you turn for help in sorting out the mess on your PC? Most likely to a knowledgeable friend or family member, and to trusted security software.

Case in point: Matt Smith, an Ad-Aware user, was approached by his father to help clean up a particularly tenacious infection (see the image, at left) caused by the rogue program, XP AntiVirus. In order to help others that find themselves in a similar malware predicament, Matt detailed the steps taken to get his father back to malware-free computing - including using Ad-Aware - in his blog at his Swoofware.com site. If you've run into this rogue, you may be interested in Matts posts, and if you haven't yet, take a look at some of the lessons learned from this ordeal, to make sure you don't find yourself in a similar situation:

• Make sure your family and friends are running a reputable anti-spyware tool in addition to their anti-virus tool.
• Have your family and friends switch from IE to Firefox.
• Try to get them to run under the non-admin account.
• Tell them to trust their instinct when something doesn't seem right.
• Make sure that at least one of your kids is technically-literate to bail you out when you can no longer keep up with technology.

For more information on the rogue program, XP AntiVirus 2008 and its clones, take advantage of free support from our worldwide volunteer security network at the Lavasoft Support Forums.