Complete Malware/Virus Removal Guide
For this and future removals ONLY USE A DISK! Put all of these programs on a CD from a clean system before you start. Flash drives can easily become comprimised by the infected PC.
Malware isn't detected by spyware programs or your anti-virus. It sneaks in and disables your Anti-Virus. It then creates a virus building center and pumps out viruses. Vundo is the most common of the fake alert viruses. It tells you that you have a virus and that their software is the cure, when actually they are the virus! Usually, it just an effort to get you to buy their software. What you get is more of the same headaches and now they have your credit card number too!
Every day I deal with viruses head on and usually win. Worst case computers are usually easier to wipe and then reload Windows. I'm going to show you how to easily remove malware and viruses and the best part is it'll all be FREE! When you are victim to Malware take these steps to be rid of it once and for all.
1.
Do not use an Anti-Spyware programs. Spybot, AdAware, and SuperAnti-Spyware are useless for malware removal. Even Anti-Virus programs won't help here. When you run your Anti-Virus program or if the Malware even lets you do so, you'll only be removing the viruses. It sounds like a good idea, but once you reboot, the Malware will detect the absense of the viruses and make more. The Malware MUST be dealt with first!
2.
First, let's use the system configuration utility to disable it and anything else we don't need running. Be sure to check the inside startup and services tab. Even if you use an iPod, you do not need the software running during this removal. You may even have to boot into Safe Mode (continuously pressing F8 on boot up) to get MSConfig to open.
RUN, msconfig
Disable anything that doesn't look like it belongs
Sometimes the malware is just a blank entry or one with random letters and numbers. Uncheck it and anything else you don't actually need running.
Press OK and reboot.
3.
Install Malwarebytes, make sure it's updated, then run a quick scan. You may even have to run this program in safe mode on the first try because the Malware programs aren't stupid. They will try to stop you! If it doesn't let you install it, just drag the executable to the desktop and rename it anything: XYZ is just fine.
Some versions of these Fake Alerts are clever enough to delete the launching icon for Malwarebytes in your Program Files folder. Your desktop shortcut then becomes an orphan and totally useless.
In this case, install Malwarebytes on any other computer. Then open its Program Files and copy the launcher that you're missing on the infected PC. Burn it to a CD, NOT A FLASH DRIVE!! Put the CD in the infected computer and drag the launcher into the Malwarebytes folder where it belongs.
If you had used a flash drive then the Malware would delete it again and infect the flash drive. Then you would try to recopy the link again and infect the other system too!
If the infection doesn't let you install Malwarebytes at all, then you need RKill. This is a program that will kill all Malware programs from running. It will not delete the malware itself, just the active processes.
Malwarebytes will take anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour to run, it just depends how many total files are on the system.
When Malwarebytes finishes scanning click Show Results.
On the next screen it will show all of the infections and automatically place a check mark next to each entry. Just click Remove Selected and it will do so.
You will probably be asked to reboot once this is done
4.
After a fresh restart, hopefully all of the obvious Malware is gone. Now it's time to deal with the left over viruses.
I've used dozens of Anti-Virus programs over the years and I've had the best of luck with Avira. The free version is actually just as effective as the paid one. Install and run Avira. It's preferred that you update it before running, but it's been known to find a lot with old definitions.
5.
If you have a 64-bit system, skip to step 6.
On 32 bit OS's run ComboFix to unscrew all the windows problems left by the infection. On this screen, right click combofix.exe and choose Save Target As. If you just made the CD before the infection you'll be fine. ComboFix expires at least every month, so you always need to make sure that you have the latest copy.
If you don't, but at least have an active internet connection it may update itself before starting. I've seen where it doesn't too.
6.
Install Advanced System Care and run it to clean up all the remaining junk.
All you have to do is click the blue circle that says Care! The program will scan for and automatically fix:
Spyware
Registry
Privacy
Junk Files
System Optimization
Security Defense
Disk Defragmentation
It will also perform a security analysis that gives you a report of the running programs. You can use this information to kill rogue programs, similiar to Hi-Jack This. The problem is, if you are not sure what you are doing, you can easily damage Windows.
I would advise against using this feature unless you are an expert.
We just covered removal of Malware and Viruses. We used Malwarebytes, ComboFix, Avira, RKill and Advanced System Care. All of these programs are FREE and are available at CNet, with the exception of Combofix. There are plenty of bogus websites that claim they have ComboFix, but I only recommend that you get it from the link above.
If you've done all of the above and still have the same problems, I suggest you wipe your system and start over. If you can recover your files, burn them to CDs or DVDs. After you have a clean install with Malwarebytes and Anti-Virus software on the system, scan each backup disk separately to ensure there is no Malware hiding on the disks.
For this and future removals ONLY USE A DISK! Put all of these programs on a CD from a clean system before you start. Flash drives can easily become comprimised by the infected PC.
Malware isn't detected by spyware programs or your anti-virus. It sneaks in and disables your Anti-Virus. It then creates a virus building center and pumps out viruses. Vundo is the most common of the fake alert viruses. It tells you that you have a virus and that their software is the cure, when actually they are the virus! Usually, it just an effort to get you to buy their software. What you get is more of the same headaches and now they have your credit card number too!
Every day I deal with viruses head on and usually win. Worst case computers are usually easier to wipe and then reload Windows. I'm going to show you how to easily remove malware and viruses and the best part is it'll all be FREE! When you are victim to Malware take these steps to be rid of it once and for all.
1.
Do not use an Anti-Spyware programs. Spybot, AdAware, and SuperAnti-Spyware are useless for malware removal. Even Anti-Virus programs won't help here. When you run your Anti-Virus program or if the Malware even lets you do so, you'll only be removing the viruses. It sounds like a good idea, but once you reboot, the Malware will detect the absense of the viruses and make more. The Malware MUST be dealt with first!
2.
First, let's use the system configuration utility to disable it and anything else we don't need running. Be sure to check the inside startup and services tab. Even if you use an iPod, you do not need the software running during this removal. You may even have to boot into Safe Mode (continuously pressing F8 on boot up) to get MSConfig to open.
RUN, msconfig
Disable anything that doesn't look like it belongs
Sometimes the malware is just a blank entry or one with random letters and numbers. Uncheck it and anything else you don't actually need running.
Press OK and reboot.
3.
Install Malwarebytes, make sure it's updated, then run a quick scan. You may even have to run this program in safe mode on the first try because the Malware programs aren't stupid. They will try to stop you! If it doesn't let you install it, just drag the executable to the desktop and rename it anything: XYZ is just fine.
Some versions of these Fake Alerts are clever enough to delete the launching icon for Malwarebytes in your Program Files folder. Your desktop shortcut then becomes an orphan and totally useless.
In this case, install Malwarebytes on any other computer. Then open its Program Files and copy the launcher that you're missing on the infected PC. Burn it to a CD, NOT A FLASH DRIVE!! Put the CD in the infected computer and drag the launcher into the Malwarebytes folder where it belongs.
If you had used a flash drive then the Malware would delete it again and infect the flash drive. Then you would try to recopy the link again and infect the other system too!
If the infection doesn't let you install Malwarebytes at all, then you need RKill. This is a program that will kill all Malware programs from running. It will not delete the malware itself, just the active processes.
Malwarebytes will take anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour to run, it just depends how many total files are on the system.
When Malwarebytes finishes scanning click Show Results.
On the next screen it will show all of the infections and automatically place a check mark next to each entry. Just click Remove Selected and it will do so.
You will probably be asked to reboot once this is done
4.
After a fresh restart, hopefully all of the obvious Malware is gone. Now it's time to deal with the left over viruses.
I've used dozens of Anti-Virus programs over the years and I've had the best of luck with Avira. The free version is actually just as effective as the paid one. Install and run Avira. It's preferred that you update it before running, but it's been known to find a lot with old definitions.
5.
If you have a 64-bit system, skip to step 6.
On 32 bit OS's run ComboFix to unscrew all the windows problems left by the infection. On this screen, right click combofix.exe and choose Save Target As. If you just made the CD before the infection you'll be fine. ComboFix expires at least every month, so you always need to make sure that you have the latest copy.
If you don't, but at least have an active internet connection it may update itself before starting. I've seen where it doesn't too.
6.
Install Advanced System Care and run it to clean up all the remaining junk.
All you have to do is click the blue circle that says Care! The program will scan for and automatically fix:
Spyware
Registry
Privacy
Junk Files
System Optimization
Security Defense
Disk Defragmentation
It will also perform a security analysis that gives you a report of the running programs. You can use this information to kill rogue programs, similiar to Hi-Jack This. The problem is, if you are not sure what you are doing, you can easily damage Windows.
I would advise against using this feature unless you are an expert.
We just covered removal of Malware and Viruses. We used Malwarebytes, ComboFix, Avira, RKill and Advanced System Care. All of these programs are FREE and are available at CNet, with the exception of Combofix. There are plenty of bogus websites that claim they have ComboFix, but I only recommend that you get it from the link above.
If you've done all of the above and still have the same problems, I suggest you wipe your system and start over. If you can recover your files, burn them to CDs or DVDs. After you have a clean install with Malwarebytes and Anti-Virus software on the system, scan each backup disk separately to ensure there is no Malware hiding on the disks.
