HijackThis & Autoruns

HijackThis & Autoruns are free system tweaking utilities that are very useful in the removal of various pests, particularly of the adware/spyware/browser hijacking variety.  However, neither has automated detection or removal capabilities and requires expert knowledge to be used effectively (and safely.)  It is recommended that these programs be used only under expert guidance.  The current version of HijackThis, which now belongs to TrendMicro, can be downloaded by clicking here.  The current version of Autoruns from Sysinternals (which is now owned by Microsoft) can be downloaded here.