It doesn’t matter if you are a computer newbie or an expert… If you have been using a PC (go ahead and laugh you Mac heads) for any amount of time you have probably attained some sort of Virus/Malware/Adware. I will not get in to details in this post on how you attained or what it is specifically doing, but I will show you how to remove it effectively, permanently, and easily
How do you know if you have a virus? Well, you either know or you don’t… Either way as a computer expert I would advise you to scan you computer regularly. Whether it is once a week or once a month the choice is ultimately yours… It’s your PC. :-p
Install, Run, Update, and Scan with Malwarebytes
This can be obtained from: http://www.malwarebytes.org
Download and run the software. Once the program opens, it will ask you to start the trial. DECLINE this as it will ask you to pay for the full version within 30 days. The free version is all we need to find and remove the junk. Next, we want to make sure the virus database is up to date. Click on the update tab, then check for updates. After the updates have completed you will now need to scan your hard drive(s). Click on the scanner tab, then “perform full scan,” then scan. This will take some time depending on your machines performance. After the scan is complete it will let you know how to proceed if it found any foreign objects. Restart as it states after removing the said objects.
If Malwarebytes did find items (extreme case below) on your machine that didn’t belong, after the reboot, run the scan again. Do this until it doesn’t find any more items. If Malwarebytes continues to find objects and it doesn’t seem to remove them after a reboot and rescan, there are several other options to remove the objects.
You can boot into safe mode and run Malwarebytes again… This is most effective as safe mode (usually) only allows Windows verified components to run.
To boot into safe mode (Windows XP, Vista, 7) restart your computer. As soon as the computer screen turns off then back on, wait about 3 seconds for the BIOS screen (usually shows the manufacture logo) to pop up, then immediately tap the F8 key. You may need to tap F8 several times in order to initate safe mode options.
If you see Windows loading, you need to try again. Power off the computer manually by holding the power button until it shuts down completely. Wait a few seconds before powering it back, then retry the step above.
If you get the safe mode options you should see the screen below.
Select “Safe Mode” and press enter.
Once the Windows loads up in safe mode re-run Malwarebytes until and follow the same steps above. You will not be able to run updates as safe mode (without networking) will not give you an internet connection. This is okay, as you (should have) just updated perviously.
If Malwarebytes still doesn’t seem to remove the items in safe mode after 2-3 scans. Don’t give up!! There is still hope, and there isn’t any reason (yet) to wipe your system.
Download and Run ComboFix: http://www.combofix.org/download.php/
This is usually one of my last resorts for those really pesky tough to get rid of viruses. Be sure when you visit their website you do NOT click on the add that says download… Click on the link near the bottom that says 4.1mb. Once you have downloaded it hopefully so someplace you remember, run it. ComboFix is a completely self aware application. It will automatically update itself, scan your computer, and remove the files. This process usually takes 20-30 minutes depending on your machines performance. Do not do anything while running ComboFix, as this may interfere with the process.
After complete, and the machine reboots (it will prompt you to reboot) check the log file (it will give you the location) and check to see if anything was removed.
ComboFix:
After you completed those steps your computer should be free and clear of any Virus/Malware/Adware. I would highly suggest that you run CCleaner now to remove any registry entries that the virus may have left behind. You can find a description of the application here. If you still feel that your computer is running slow, you get tons of pop-ups, or redirected to strange websites when searching. Let us know. There are several other applications we use, but keep secret… Hahha j/k we will post up some more useful applications later. Don’t you worry!
