Certain annoying types of malware stop your antivirus program from running (stopping you from removing the malware). If it's of the less intelligent variety, you can outsmart the virus by changing your antivirus apps' file extension to something besides .exe.
Since there are a few different types of executable file extensions in Windows, and malware isn't always the most persistent in stopping your programs from running, you can often try changing your antivirus' file extension and it'll run without problems. Over at tech blog Download Squad, they recommend changing your favorite antivirus program to a .com extension (you'll need go to Tools > Folder Options in Windows Explorer and uncheck "hide extensions for known file types" under the view tab to make this possible). If the malware isn't too smart, it won't be looking for the change and your antivirus will be able to run without a hitch.
This doesn't work with every malware infection, but it's certainly a legit first-round tactic when fighting an infection. In fact, previously mentioned SUPERAntiSpyware Portable uses this tactic itself, assigning itself a different filename every time it's downloaded. If this method doesn't work, you'll probably have to go to greater lengths to get rid of the infection, but it's a nice trick that you can try before having to download or run additional software just to run your antivirus tool of choice. Got any other quick, download-free ways of squashing spyware? Let us know in the comments!
Change File Extensions to Outsmart Pesky Malware [Download Squad]