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You should always have a good antivirus INSTALLED to help prevent getting infected in the first place
Free Antivirus programs we like to install on friends and family PC's (Laptops too!)
So the question is how do you know that you are infected?
Some of the most common symptoms that can indicate an infection are your
computer takes a long time to boot up, you try to go to a website but
your web browser takes you to a different site instead, you get fake
alerts and/or popups telling you you have all kinds of problems and then
the pop up will ask you for a payment by credit card, antivirus alerts
that popup from an antivirus product you did not install.
So where do you begin? - Follow these steps
- Make sure you have an antivirus installed...really no
kidding....very important. Yes I know that some of them cost money but
it is well worth it if it prevents hours of frustration or paying
someone to clean up your computer. Some good free ones are "AVG"
(sometimes hard to remove, and likes to remind you to upgrade to the
paid version) and "Microsoft Security Essentials" (which actually works
quite well). These are listed below.
- Once you have your Antivirus installed, or if you are infected
you may not be able to install an antivirus yet but we will get back to
that in a second. Make sure your antivirus if it can run has all the
latest updates by finding and clicking on the "update" button. After
updating then run a full "scan" on your computer which may take up to
several hours (one of the reasons being an IT person is so time
consuming). If a virus is found hopefully your antivirus will clean it
up. If your antivirus cannot clean it up or your antivirus will not run,
or you did not have an antivirus and cannot install one then keep
reading.
- Ok so you are infected and your trusty already installed
antivirus has let you down now it's time to start trying some other
alternatives...no not voodoo, instead other utilities that can help. How
I normally start the process of cleaning up an infected computer begins
with finding the right utility for the job. If I have found that the
infection is a specific one that I have seen before or has a name with
it I will find the utility that will remove it. If however I don't know
what the infection is then I will start with the basics.
- Beginners - Try doing a system rollback to a previous date using "System Restore" in Windows see this article
on the steps needed. If you cannot perform a rollback then keep moving
ahead with these steps. Chances are your infection is preventing System
Restore from running. After using the system restore start your clean up
(yes cleanup, even if the infection is no longer doing pop-ups or
whatever else that indicates an infection, it is still a good idea to
scan your computer) with using "Malwarebytes" , "Super antispyware",
"Emsisoft Anti-malware", and "Spybot Search and Destroy"...These are all
listed below. Download these from the manufacturer website and install
each if your able to. Then find and click on "update" for each one then
run a full "scan". With Spybot Search and Destroy make sure after you
update it that you also click on "immunize" so that it will immunize
your computer in many key areas against known threats. Remember every
utility you run may find a different infection that was not found by the
previous program which is why I am telling you it is important to run
these four utilities.
- So if everything worked correctly you were able to roll back
your computer to a previous date, run your cleanup utilities, reboot,
and then delete your previous restore points in case they were infected
also. Oh I did not mention deleting old restore points? Ok then here it
is. In XP you delete previous restore points by turning off system
restore and turning it back on, in Vista and Windows 7 you go to the
system restore utility and click on "delete restore points".
- Advanced users - Ok so if you have a nasty infection and
you would like some other ideas you can try "combofix" which works good
on XP, "Vipre" which runs for a long time but usually helps, and "Free
Dr Web". All of these are shown below. "Free Dr Web" is from Russia and
creates it's own separate operating environment to run unhindered by the
infection.
How to Repair & Reinstall Windows if a virus has made your computer unbootable
Coupons and Discounts
for Antivirus and Anti-spyware
AVG
BluePenguin Software
Computer Associates
ESET
F-Secure
Symantec
Trend Micro
Links
for Free
Tools to Download
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Free
Spyware
and Malware removal tools
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- Microsoft Windows®
Defender
- Spybot
Search & Destroy
(Latest Version)
- Spyware
Cleaner from
Trendmicro
(Scans
your PC from website)
- SUPERAntiSpyware Can be installed on Clean PC
and copied to infected PC and
run from directory (Removes Spyware, Adware, Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, Dialers, Worms, KeyLoggers,
HiJackers, Parasites, Rootkits and many other types of threats)
- Dial-A-Fix (Click
HERE to learn more before downloading.
Dial-A-Fix is a handy user interface to perform tasks which are usually used
when repairing computers after Spyware/Adware/Malware damage
- ) other types of threats)
- Ad-Aware
- Spy Ware Blaster
- Bazooka
(Adware and Spyware Scanner)
- HijackThis
(Note: You should only use HijackThis if you have advanced
computer knowledge or if you are under the direction of someone who
does. Improper usage of this program can cause problems with how your
computer operates.)
- malwarebytes
(variety of tools that can identify and remove
malicious software from your computer)
- Conficker
Detection Tool
(Mcafee
Remote Scanner Utility)
- Conficker
Removal Tool
(Mcafee Stinger)
- Conficker
aka Downadup Removal Tool
(Symantec
Removal Tool)
- Emsisoft
Anti-Malware
Scan and remove especially trojans and other malware such as worms,
viruses, spyware, trackers, diallers, etc. Easy to use, quarantine and
updates are available.
File guard, auto updates, scheduled scans are not included
in the free version.
- SmitFraud Fix Removes many of the fake anti–virus programs, which are trojans, on Windows 2000 and XP.
- HijackThis
Displays registry and file settings, where you can fix those that are
corrupted or hijacked. Keep in mind, it doesn’t help you determine which
settings are bad, you must make the determination.
- Kaspersky Rescue Disk Malware scanner and remover that boots from a CD.
- AVG Rescue CD Provides an anti–virus and anti–spyware scanner and admin tools from a bootable CD.
- Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Boot from CD or Flash Drive and clean infected systems without installing an Anti-Virus - Beta testing
- Microsoft Safety Scanner
The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free downloadable security tool that
provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other
malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus software.
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Free Antivirus tools
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- Housecall
from Trendmicro
(Scans
your PC from website)
- AVG
Home Edition
(Install
on your PC)
- avast! Home Edition Download
(Install on your PC)
- FSecure (Free
Antivirus)
- AntiVIR
(Avira Free Antivirus)
- NOD32 AV (ESET Free Antivirus)
- Kaspersky
(30-Day Trial Antivirus)
- Symantec
(Removal
tools)
- Kaspersky (Removal
tools)
- Microsoft Security Essentials
(Can
be used instead of AVG)
- VIPRE PC Rescue Program
(Great for cleaning up infected
PC's)
- Free
Dr Web (Can detect and remove all infections. Very easy to use. No Install needed.
No updater included, so you have to download the whole program every time you need it to get the latest definitions.)(If
page loads in Russian switch to
English in upper right corner)
- ComboFix (Downloads
from Bleepingcomputer.com) (scans your computer for known
malware, and when found, attempts to clean these infections automatically. In
addition to being able to remove a large amount of the most common and current
malware, ComboFix also displays a report that can be used by trained helpers
to remove malware that is not automatically removed by the program. Please note that running this program without supervision can cause your computer
to not operate correctly. Therefore only run this program at the request of
an experienced helper.)(Won't Run with AVG installed)
- Microsoft
Security Essentials (Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for
your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious
software)
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Norton Internet Security for Mac
and Windows
Got Spyware? Learn about Exterminate.
CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2010
AVG Anti-Virus Network Edition - Focus on your business and minimize IT resource requirements - download now
ESET NOD32 Antivirus, CNET Editors’ Choice 2009
Purchase F-Secure Internet Security
Common
sites for Windows Add-ons
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