Sadly my hopes for the Symantec Virus removal tool were overly optimistic. Just then the Microsoft updates window appeared with the March Malicious Software Removal Tool. What great timing I thought.

This also reported having removed a virus but the problems did not go away and Internet Explorer is riddled with popups and dodgy warning messages.

Enough is enough, so I've asked our Systems department to wipe the computer and start again. My files are safe in a roaming profile (a clever technology where the Documents and Settings folder is copied to a server so that it is available wherever I log in) so the only inconvenience installing extra software not included in the default setup.

I recognise that I've very lucky to be able to do this and it is unlikely to be an option for most home users. But spending some time preparing for a disaster like this is a good investment.

Software like DriveImageXML is a good start although restoring the image may require creating a Windows recovery disc, using something like Barts PE. These tools are all free but frankly I think this is a situation where it is worth spending a little money to save time. Something like Acronis True Image 11 Home is much simpler to use and worth the £40 price tag. Now all I need to do is find the time to make the backup.