How to fix popups, spyware, malware and nuisance programs

[confus-ed]

Now the tricky bit is to work out what you don't want.

YES !

However there's no definative 'its bad list' - it just grows & grows & grows ... at the risk of labouring the point yet more, without a list of 'known startup applications & processes' you are gonna have your work cut out !

We need to know what shouldn't be there, well that's what we can't identify as 'good/required' ..

You seem to be back to front on this particular aspect .. you probably like me immediately 'know' which ones to be looking at (you say so) but what about them that don't ? With a list like this you can tick off lots of 'strange stuff' knowing what its for & concentrate on the 'unfound' stuff ..

I'll shut up now !

[confus-ed]

A point not made on this thread which I believe is important to know/realise ..
(& thanks to geoscomp for pointing it out elsewhere, I hadn't noticed it wasn't made clear here).

If you find yourelf with some virus or other, be aware that you can't of course depend on your installed AV program to clean it up properly as thats potentially compromised, else how did you get the virus ?

Best advice then is to try another program, perhaps an online one to make sure you killed everything, if you have something that can run outside windows to check, so much the better !