Did you know that you don't have to be professionally trained, with years of experience in order to remove a virus, trojan or other type of malware from your computer? By following proven, step by step details, you can actually remove any harmful software from your computer, for free!
In the last article of this series "The Top 22 Signs Of A Virus Infected Computer", we learned how to identify the signs of a virus infected computer, and a few safeguards on how to prevent infection. We will now dive in to the steps required for successful computer virus removal, with the same techniques that the highly skilled technicians use!
If you are able to connect to the internet, browse the internet, download files and follow simple instructions in an outline format, you too can learn how to remove viruses and never pay an arm and a leg for virus removal...ever again! Let's begin!
1.) Prepare the computer for scanning.
Disconnect from the internet. Malware can connect to the internet; update itself when needed, download more malicious software from the internet, upload sensitive data to the internet and much more. Always disconnect the internet as a first step in scanning a computer infected with a virus!
2.) Create a current Restore Point.
Open "System Restore" (System Protection in Vista and Windows 7). Create a restore point for the current day in which you are performing the computer virus removal.
3.) Remove all writable media.
Disconnect all memory cards, external USB drives, and other storage devices from the computer. Viruses tend to spread easily to drives and media connected to an infected computer so it's best to disconnect any to prevent spreading the virus.
4.) Check for suspicious software in programs
Check for software with strange names, or programs with strange characters within the name such as: #*@#, etc. Also check for programs that don't look familiar as it could be malware.
5.) Check for suspicious programs in the start-up menu
Access the "startup menu" (msconfig) and check under the "Startup" tab for suspicious programs as noted above. Look for any software that has no "publisher" and look for any software with no name; and uncheck them all because they are threats! It's always possible to re-check programs to startup with Windows if needed, since they aren't deleted.
6.) Scan for threats using antivirus software
Download or (insert the disk of) your favorite antivirus software. One secret that the antivirus sellers don't want you to know is that free antivirus software works just as effectively or better, than several "well-known" brands for computer virus removal! Install your antivirus software and update it for the most recent virus definitions (internet connection needed). Scan computer (all removable disks) using the FULL scan option (if available). Remove any malware that is found, and reboot the computer or allow it to reboot if prompted.
7.) Scan for threats using anti-spyware software
Download or (insert the disk of) your favorite antispyware software. Install your antispyware software and update it for the most recent threat definitions (internet connection needed). Scan the computer (all removable disks) using the FULL scan option (if available). Remove any malware that is found, and reboot the computer or allow it to reboot if prompted.
8.) Remove temporary files
Remove temporary computer (Windows) files by using a temp file remover, to remove temporary files such as internet cookies, local user files, browsing history, etc. There are good temp file removers out there, one of the most common and effective one being CCleaner, feel free to find it in your favorite search engine and install it, or any other that you deem effective.
Scan your computer using the temp file cleaner, and allow it to "clean" or remove the temp files it find. It can take quite awhile, so be patient. Also, depending on how long it has been since your last computer tune-up, the files deleted could total in the gigabytes! This will help speed up your computer's overall performance, and remove remnants of leftover viruses.
9.) Clear browser cache
Clear the browser cache of your favorite browser. If you do not know how to do this, go to the Help link in your browser. This step may not necessarily be needed if you used the temp file cleaner, but it is good to know how to remove cookies, files, history etc, from your browser to increase performance and remove malware remnants after any computer virus removal.
10.) Re-scan the computer for virus infections and other threats
Re-scan for threats using antispyware and antivirus software that you used initially, just to make sure the PC is clean. If not, repeat the scanning steps as highlighted above. Don't scan using both programs simultaneously, as "false-positives" can occur, or super slow scanning can result; therefore, taking hours to complete scanning.
11.) Use a GOOD registry cleaner
The Windows registry is vital for your computer to function. Many types of viruses, Trojans etc, attack the Windows registry. This can cause unreliability, a slow computer, missing programs and files, and even the failure to boot your computer. Using a reliable registry cleaner can correct errors that occur regularly within Windows, as well as correct errors that can cause multiple computer problems.
It is best to be extremely careful when using registry cleaners as the registry becoming corrupt will spell the end of your Windows installation. Using the registry cleaner to restore a computer after an infection is necessary.
Next, restart your PC and check for abnormal behavior (as explained in the last article)
If the computer works just fine, there are no unexpected errors, crashes or threats detected by your software, your computer just might be clean!
To learn specific, proven tactics, such as: the exact (free) software to use, how to scan for viruses and spyware, how to scan and clean the registry, how to remove temporary files, how to remove hidden files that antivirus software can't detect, how to remove viruses when a computer won't boot and more, feel free to check out the The PC Technicians Virus Removal Manual; the link is noted in the resource box for this article!
In the meanwhile, I hope you learned enough to keep a defensive against computer virus infections (or other malware), and are on your way to removing those nasty programs out there just waiting to infect your computer!
Happy Computing!
Jarvis Edwards - TekTime
Jarvis Edwards is a senior technician at TekTime IT Consulting & Computer Repair, a located in the Inland Empire area of California and is the author of The PC Technician's Virus Removal Manual. For a detailed, illustrated, easy to follow, step by step guide on removing viruses yourself, please visit his website below!
Click to visit TekTime's website
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