Malware Removal - From the Basics to the Nasty Ones

So you think you have some form of malware. This can be a scary thing for many people. The good news is many of these unwelcome guests can be quarantined and/or removed simply by performing a virus or malware scan. Of course, they aren't all so easily defeated. For this reason, we will look at a few possible scenarios for their removal. We will start with simple fixes and move up to more extreme measures. It is recommended you follow these in order and not start with anything too drastic.

Step One: The Basic Virus

Your computer is acting a bit wonky and you believe there is an unwelcome visitor. First thing first, let's see if a good anti-virus such as avast! or Avira recognizes anything. These can be downloaded free from their respective websites. As always with these articles, Google is your friend. Download and install the anti-virus program (or use one you already have loaded on your system), then perform a scan. This could take a while, so you might want to find something to do in order to occupy some time. The scan may interrupt itself to tell you it found a virus. If this is the case, try to quarantine the virus and, after the scan has completed, restart your system. Play around with it a bit and make sure everything works. If your system is no longer acting strangely, you may have fixed the problem. It is recommended you keep the quarantined files as they are and not delete them until you are certain they are not important files. If it would make you feel safer, do another scan or get another anti-virus and scan again to make sure everything is gone. A good scan with something like Ad-Aware or SuperAntiSpyware could also be beneficial. If this worked, congratulations. You have just repaired your system. Skip ahead to Step Five. If not, continue the process below.

Step Two: Beyond The Basics

If the above steps have failed, there may be a fix almost as simple as running an anti-virus. It is possible you have a clever virus (not clever enough to outsmart you for long, though). There are a few things this could be. You could have a web browser hijacker on your hands. This isn't as big of a problem to get rid of as it sounds, but it is something you very much need to take care of. By downloading a file called CWShredder, you can see if this is the case. Download the file and run it. Do as it says. This program removes CoolWebSearch, a very stealthy web browser hijacker. If this doesn't yield any positive results, try downloading McAfee's Stinger. Run this, following any prompts it gives you. This searches for some nastier viruses that some anti-virus programs might miss. Hopefully this has solved your problem. If not, you either have a very tricky virus, or there is another problem entirely. If neither of these steps have returned a message saying you are infected, you might want to enlist the help of a professional. It is advised that you contact your local computer repair shop and tell them the steps you have taken. Typically, a computer repair technician can get to the bottom of problems you are unable to solve yourself. It may be a good idea to take your system to a repair shop even if you have been alerted that you have a virus, but have been unable to repair the problem. If you are inclined to do so, there is one more step a user can take without too much expertise being required. After the next step, though, I will strongly recommend that you take your system to a shop if you have not solved your problem.

Step Three: Getting Serious

If you are about ready to scream at this point, you are not alone. This step is not recommended for those who are unsure what they are doing, but can help if you have at least a general idea of what is going on. Download a bootable antivirus software such as the one provided by Kaspersky, Avira or BitDefender. Also download a program such as Free Easy Burner and burn the .iso file you have downloaded to a CD. Insert the CD and restart your computer. Your system will boot up to the CD and give you an interface different to the Windows interface. This allows you to scan for viruses without loading Windows. This is useful if the virus uses Windows to load and hide itself in your system. If so, this can remove it with no problem. Do this scan and see if you get any results. If so, clear the virus. If not, it is strongly recommended that you take your system to a computer repair shop. The next step can be done if you really want to, but it is not recommended. you may not even have a virus. If you don't it would be a very bad idea to do the next step. At least consult a computer repair technician before doing this in order to get a second opinion, even if you don't get it repaired by that person.

Step Four: Waging War

This little bugger has to die, right? Well, as I said this is not recommended for the inexperienced user, but will work almost 100% of the time if you are dealing with a virus. The dreaded word: reformatting. Basically, you will wipe your hard drive clean and start over. This is undesirable because you will lose all the files you haven't backed up. To begin with, make absolutely certain you have backed up every file you would like to keep. Also, make sure you have your Windows installation media as well as the media for every other program you want to reload. Equally as important, make sure you have your Windows Product Key (in more recent systems, these are likely on a sticker on the side of the system). Now insert your Windows installation media into your system and reboot. Install Windows using the prompts the installer gives you. Afterward, you will have a clean, empty system. The virus will be gone, but so will everything else. As I have said, this is not recommended if you are unsure what you are doing as you can seriously mess yourself up and lose all your important files and pictures. It is strongly recommended that you consult a professional before doing this. Now, on to steps to keep this from occurring again.

Step Five: Never Again

There are some steps you can take to greatly reduce your risk of this happening to you. follow these five simple steps and you will be as protected as possible from this happening again (or for the first time):

Protect yourself with an anti-virus. There are some excellent free programs out there such as avast! and Avira. There are also some excellent paid subscriptions such as Kaspersky and AVG. A good antivirus provides real-time protection from any threats. Along with a good firewall (mentioned next), you will be well-protected from all accidental infections.

Use a good firewall. There are some excellent firewalls such as ZoneAlarm and Comodo that are free of charge. A firewall tracks all programs from your system trying to communicate with outside systems and vice-versa. A good firewall is often overlooked, but can be a great security measure on any system.

Keep all your programs up-to-date. A program like an anti-virus or firewall can not run as smoothly or effectively if it is out of date. For this reason, keep your virus definitions up-to-date with the program's auto-update feature. This will likely save you some grief. Also,Windows users, keep Windows updated with the most recent Windows Updates; they are there for a reason.

Actually utilize the anti-virus and firewall you have installed. No program does you any good when it isn't utilized. Run regular virus scans and always leave your firewall on. This will ensure you excellent protection.

Don't download anything you don't need. Sometimes there is a nifty-looking toolbar you want to download or a pop-up tells you that you have a virus on your system. Well, you don't need the toolbar and the virus isn't actually there. The toolbar may be legitimate, but many have tracking tools or viruses bundled with them. The virus warning is actually, ironically enough, trying to get you to download a real virus. It is a clever trick, but no less dangerous for it. Better safe than sorry in all cases.

Hopefully this article has been helpful and informative. You may have removed your first virus or you may have learned how to secure your system after its removal. It is wise to remember professional computer repair technicians are available in most areas for anything you feel is over your head. We are here to help and love helping those who are unable to solve problems like these. Do shop around for a good repair technician, even if only for your peace of mind.