But that's the point, isn't it? If you just re-image, you're not cleaning up all the tracks created while running naked, and directory structures, file locations and CLSIDs and all will not be changed, perhaps?
no necessarily, but it does remove any installed programs, i.e. spyware and all of that stuff....
if your virus definitions and security software is better than it was, it stands a better chance of blocking such intrusions...
but I wouldnt run around "naked" on the internet. That is what the hackers are waiting for....
Re-imaging in this case means restarting from square one. You do a clean install, put on all the programs that you want, and (before ever connecting to the internet) saving an image.
Then you browse around for a while, attracting all sort of bugs and such. But every so often you copy your previously-saved image of your clean start back onto your machine, in effect wiping everything that's been done since.
That being said, I have free anti-virus, free anti-spyware, and free anti-popup installed. They're all set to update and scan automatically. I almost never see a popup (about 1 or 2 month gets through--really), haven't had a virus for over a year (and the one that I had a year ago was caught and cleared automatically--caused no damage) and spyware is cleared daily if it gets through.
I have DSL and my computer is connected 24/7/365 and has been online for close to three years straight. $0.00 down, $0.00 per month.