There is no one program which will detect everything. Sorry that you had this happen, however, depends on what the exact problem was, when and how it came onto the computer AND if your particular programs were the very latest versions and had all ready had updates which would have detected whatever it was. If it was something brand new then many times some perfectly good programs won't detect it until the techs at that particular place come up with the update to the program so that the new threat can be detected and stopped and removed. Can't say absolutely why yours didn't detect and remove because we don't know what it was. There are a several very nasty items out there now and some programs just don't catch them yet. There are also some nasties which just aren't detected by your standard anti-virus program, they need a special program to do so.
When you say Lavasoft, I have to assume you mean some version of AdAware...the most recent versions, at least I don't feel are as thorough as previous versions.
Spybot is and has been a very good program to keep on the computer. Don't use the TeaTimer portion however as at times it can interfere with removals. Another very good program in use now is Malwarebytes'-Anti-Malware. It too is highly recommended and WILL remove many of the latest nasty items out there.
There really is not one program which will catch everything, there probably is no way to create one, it would be too large for most computers to run and too cumbersome too. This is why several programs are always recommended...ONE anti-virus, ONE firewall, and several anti-spy/malware programs. Keep your temp files small, keep your Java updated, use good security settings in your browsers all will help. Another great program is SpywareBlaster. It will
It is FREE and best of all it DOES NOT run in the background consuming valuable resources. Add this to your protection and be sure to also use it's Restricted Sites section. You will be very pleased with it, I am sure.
Judy

That's really helpful Judy, thank you. I've made the tweaks to Spybot you suggest, reduced the size of the temp folder and I'll have a look at the other programs you suggested. I just never want to have a week like last week. The only good thing to come out of it was learning a bit about the registry and so on...but I'd rather have found an easier way!

Many thanks again
Cliff

The other programs are really must haves today, at least I believe.
Good Surfing! Don't hesitate to come back if you ever need help, somebody is always here ready to jump in.
Judy