One simple installation of NoScript would have prevented this mess: "I searched for free things, clicked the top links, and initiated the first download on each page. This—no surprise—led me to download a bunch of adware and malware" http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/08/download-me-ii-removing-the-remnants-of-the-webs-most-dangerous-search-terms/ Using !GNU !Linux would have helped, too. !FreeSoftware FTW!