Malware hides in only a few spots (typically). The folders below should be manually scanned with an anti-virus (kaspersky or Windows OneCare) and an anti-malware application (malwarebytes’ anti-malware) on a daily basis.
In Windows XP:
C:Documents and Settings
C:Windows
In Windows Vista:
C:Users
C:Windows
Most of the very malicious malware resides in C:windowssystem32
As a IT consultant I need to move from appointment to appointment. Scanning the folders above with manual scans allows me to clean up the infections quickly instead of waiting to scan the entire PC. Once the manual scans are complete and the malware from those folders has been neutralized I set their on-access scanners to clean and then quarantine anything left (if there is anything left…there usually isn’t).
