Virus/Spyware Removal Pricing and Procedure?

[GreenCycleComputers]

I did a virus clean up yesterday on a laptop. It was the worst one I have ever dealt with, and thats saying something..

First HDD Scan, took some shifting, but removed it, then started work properly.

Inc manual removal, this is roughly what I removed..

MBAM - 872 infections - Trojans galore, false security etc. Funnily enough, NO mywebsearch!.
Hitmanpro - 10 x viruses (inc 1 bootkit), 268 traces
Hijack this - Removed 45 different items. BHO's all over, toolbars, redirects..
Hosts file - Even using Bryce's tool of the week, this was still corrupt. Had to clean this manually. A lot of the entries were google related. There were quite a few 'adult' listed sites mentioned. (The laptop belongs to a 16yr old teen).
Autoruns - Removed 21 items
Process Explorer - Removed 18 items.

I was >< close to telling my client, a N&P would be the best result, but thought I'm going to do my best and get this thing back up and running perfectly again, without resorting to the n&p. To be honest, a n&p would of been quicker to complete than the removal, and would of earned me more. (I charge flat rate). He paid £45 for the virus removal, compared to £85 for the n&p.

Client extremely happy, i'm happy, happy days

I'm the opposite. Since a N&P is sooo much easier I'll charge much less for that. Perhaps its laziness on my part or maybe I just need to learn a better removal process but Virus cleanup always seems more work. Unless there is a good reason (like no media/keys for software) I'll usually steer them towards the N&P.

 

[Martyn]

I'm the opposite. Since a N&P is sooo much easier I'll charge much less for that. Perhaps its laziness on my part or maybe I just need to learn a better removal process but Virus cleanup always seems more work. Unless there is a good reason (like no media/keys for software) I'll usually steer them towards the N&P.

It's always a business decision, what is best for you and the customer.

 

[GreenCycleComputers]

Well I also like being able to assure them it is gone. I know there are guys out there really good at AV stuff and will take the time to really do it right but there really is no guarentee a system is totally clean. I've had situations where 5 programs said it was clean only to find out I missed something.

 

[gazza]

While you can remove viruses with a combination of auto and manual scans, it's the damage done to the registry that is the unknown. I have one rule, for Rootkit infections = clean install = happy customer. You as a technician have to make the call as the which way to go, manual or nuke and pave