HijackThis stands alone in this Hive Five as being the least automated yet most likely to completely wreck your system if used incorrectly. HijackThis does a comprehensive scan of the state of your computer and reports back an enormous log file. The tool makes no judgement on whether or not an application, browser modification, or registry entry is malicious or not. It simply generates a list of things that could have been potentially altered or tampered with by spyware, malware, or other malicious programs. Advanced users can look over the log themselves and determine what needs to be pruned. If you're not comfortable doing that, your best bet is to take the log file to a popular security forum like BleepingComputer or SpywareInfoForum and ask their armies of knowledgeable volunteer malware slayers to comb over it for you. Alternately, while not a replacement for receiving expert help from people in the forums, HijackThis.de is a web-based HijackThis log reader which is updated nightly. You upload your log file, it scans the file for relevant entries and gives you links to articles on how to remove the malware found in the log.

On Thursday we asked you to share your favorite tool for purging malware from your computer. We've tallied the votes and we're back with the top five contenders for best malware removal tool.

If you're switching to another antivirus program, you have to remove the old one. The problem is that to remove either Norton of McAfee, you need a blowtorch (I hear C-4 plastic explosives is also needed on Norton's Live Update). [Private note to Brendon: I know, I never let up.]

Try AppRemover, a free tool that's designed to find and rip out every last portion of your security applications. It removes other antivirus programs as well.

If that doesn't work, try the Norton Removal Tool (also known as the AutoFix Tool). It effectively yanks out every shred of -- get ready -- every Norton product on your PC (from versions 2003 through 2009). That's right, it's dopey, and you're stuck reinstalling the specific Norton tools you want to keep. And for McAfee, I suggest you watch its Flash tutorial for a sense of how to use their removal tool.

1. Download the most recent definition file for your language using the download link to your computer
2. Open VIPRE (right-click on the tray icon or double-click on the shortcut put on your desktop)
3. From the main menu, select "File" and choose "Settings..."
4. In the "Update Now" section, choose "Browse"
5. Navigate to where you downloaded the file
6. Select the file you downloaded and the installation will proceed automatically

Finding the sweet spot of security suites

The picks here contrast with those of a later survey (2nd item below).

From my point of view, the most important criterion for selecting a security suite is whether the program includes all the components you need.

Nearly all of the top-rated security suites provide a firewall and a range of anti-malware tools. The programs are differentiated by their auxiliary security components. For example, youngsters and inexperienced users may require first-rate Web-content filtering and antiphishing tools. More-experienced PC users may find such features less important.

In terms of which programs offer the best virus detection, I'm afraid the days of ranking an antivirus engine the best because of an advantage of a few percentage points in detection tests are over. It never was a really useful measurement. The myth that an antivirus app will protect you from the latest infections is even less credible now.

The sheer volume of new malware has outstripped the ability of AV vendors to create and distribute their virus-definition updates. No security program made today can prevent all PC infections. The virus-detection rates of the top-rated apps are so similar, it makes sense to give a little more weight to the tools' design, performance, and range of features. A tool people can't understand and use is no protection to them at all.

For more information on the ratings, see the following security-suite reviews:

• PC World: Top Internet security suites
• PCMag.com: The best security suites for 2009
• Maximum PC: Antivirus software roundup — protect your PC from guys like this!

It doesn’t matter how effective an AV app is at catching viruses if it means we have to suffer through constant nagging or performance degradation in our day-to-day computing. We’ve identified the five criteria by which security apps should be judged.

Which suite will be best for keeping you safe and not slowing you down this year? We've tested them all, and the answer might surprise you.