How to Remove a Virus

If you suspect you have a virus (or any other malware), you should take steps immediately. The following procedures work for most viruses or malware (except perhaps for completely new, unknown or unusually malignant strains). It is better to complete all steps, so you can be (reasonably) sure that all traces have been removed.

Signs to look out for (infections may cause one or several of the following):

•Slow computer, and/or slow internet connection.
•Strange pop-ups or web browser redirections (beyond those expected from dodgy websites).
•Program failure, or inexplicable errors (even after a fresh install).
•System functions unavailable (eg: Control Panel, Task Manager, Internet Explorer).
•System giving a "RPC error", giving a window with a 30 second countdown to a restart.
•Excessive internet cap usage, i.e high internet traffic on your computer.

Steps
1.Confirmation and Preliminary Action:
◦Make a list of ways your computer is showing signs of abnormal operation. Satisfy yourself that these signs are not due to hardware failure or problems with attached equipment. Sometimes people misdiagnose software problems (such as bugs in Outlook Express or printer drivers) as virus activity. Also, problems with the Registry can be a source of errors, this happens if you install and uninstall lots of programs.
◦Run your virus-scanner, but beware, many modern viruses can circumvent (or hide from) common anti-virus programs. Norton Antivirus and Mcafee have both been seen to exhibit this weakness, or seem unable to remove certain strains.
2.Check access to System Restore & the Internet.
1.Check computer for system access - Try to disable System Restore - right-click My Computer and select properties. Turn off System Restore on all drives.
2.Download and install new Anti-Virus. Both AVG Free Edition and Avast! are highly acclaimed programs. Install one of them (see External Links). Update the program's virus definitions. Don't scan for viruses yet.
3.Install Spybot Search & Destroy or Webroot Spysweeper (see External Links), and update its definitions. Don't scan for malware yet.
4.Install Adaware Personal Edition (see External Links) and update its definitions. Don't scan for malware yet.
3.Reboot into Safe Mode - Restart your computer and press F8 before Windows loads. Press F8 several times if you need to. Select Safe Mode from the resulting menu. Safe Mode disables much of the startup routine (including some common Malware hiding places).
4.Run your Anti-Virus - Run the freshly installed Anti-Virus. And Heal or Delete any references to Malware.
5.Run your Malware Scanners - Run both the scanners sequentially, deleting any references found.
6.Reboot and turn System Restore back on.
7.Enjoy your sanitised computer.

Tips
•If these steps are difficult to follow or impossible to achieve, please call a computer service professional (such as the one who wrote this HowTo!).
•Disabling System Restore and booting in Safe Mode are especially important if the malware is difficult to remove normally.
•Should you follow these steps and there is still signs of infection. You can take the following advanced steps:
1.Create a boot disk (see External Links).
2.Add scanning tools to the boot disk (see External Links).
3.Boot and scan using the boot disk.
•If all else fails:
1.Connect a USB hard drive to your computer
2.Save onto it your important files, such as documents, emails and favorites.
3.Use your Install disc to format your hard drive and reinstall your operating system.
4.Discover which virus strain it is, this usually is indicated by the anti-virus. Do a search on a reliable search engine like google, for the "virus name", with "removal" followed after it. The specific virus removal tool can be downloaded for free, and used it with ease. Restart the computer, and boot into "safe mode". Run the removal tool in "safe mode", remembering to follow any given instructions to the letters. Note these instructions are on the site where the tool was downloaded from.
•If this cannot help to get rid of the virus from your computer, the last thing you can do is to contact the computer manufacturer or reinstall the system either yourself or an expert.

Warnings
•It is always safer to call on a computer expert to perform procedures that you are not sure about. There is always a chance that you could disable your system and lose valuable data.
•Removing Viruses and Malware often takes several hours. Be sure you have plenty of time available.

How to Prevent Viruses, Spyware, and Adware with Avast and CounterSpy

Would you like a set of two programs that, once installed, will prevent all malicious software from infecting your machine without having to do scans in safe mode?

Steps
1.Get the software from the websites provided in the section 'Things You'll Need'.
2.On each website, there are instructions on how to obtain the product keys for each program. Avast! 4 Home is free for personal home use, and CounterSpy is $19.99. Once you have the product keys, install each program.
3.To enter the key for Avast, right-click on the system tray icon (blue sphere with the letter a) and choose About avast..., then click on License Key. This will enable you to enter in the key emailed to you. Avast is now good for 14 months.
4.For CounterSpy, double-click the icon on your desktop, and the setup wizard will launch. During this time, it will request the product key, as well as to set up some initial preferences. Once the wizard has finished, run CounterSpy to perform a scan. You want to go ahead and remove all that it finds.
5.Both programs run in the background. This is evident from the Avast icon spinning around a lot, and CounterSpy popping up messages about malware trying to install itself. However, regular scanning is also necessary.
6.Both programs also automatically update their own definition files, and can also update manually.
7.A particularly useful component of the Avast program is it's VRDB, or virus recovery database. It is set to perform only when running the screensaver, so right-click the Avast icon, click VRDB, then click Generate VRDB only when computer is idle. This will create backups of your system files so that in the event something gets past Avast, it can restore that file without you having to reinstall your OS. Avast is the only anti-virus software that performs this way.

Tips
•Remember to implement firewalls into your security arsenal. Software firewalls aren't as good as hardware ones, but something's better than nothing.
•Remember to check your programs often, and make sure they are scanning when they are scheduled to.
•Remember to do away with Internet Explorer, and switch to Firefox, or Opera, or something other than IE.
•Make sure you do all your windows updates, most windows updates have cumulative or critical security updates in them and this can plug holes in your operating system for you.
•On a pop-up, never close the window with a link inside the pop-up, instead close the pop-up with the red 'X' in the top corner. Closing the pop-up with the link can download spywares or adwares.

Warnings
•Check that System Restore still creates valid restore points after installing Avast! 4 Home. This may fail to work properly.

Things You'll Need
•Avast anti-virus: http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html
•CounterSpy: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/CounterSpy.cfm
•Alternative browser: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

How to Avoid Getting a Computer Virus or Worm on Your Windows PC

There are many viruses and worms out there that could infect your computer. Not all of them are going to completely destroy your data, but they are always a hassle to deal with.

Steps
1.Be careful about using MS Outlook. Outlook is more susceptible to worms than other e-mail programs, unless you have efficient Anti-Virus programs running. Use Pegasus or Thunderbird (by Mozilla), or a web-based program such as Hotmail or Yahoo or 'Outlook Express'.
2.Install an Anti-Virus program(ex. Norton, F-Secure, Sophos or McAfee.) Also available is the free AntiVir virus scanner. Make sure you keep your virus definitions updated and run a full system scan weekly.
3.Install an Anti-Spyware program(ex. Adaware SE, Microsoft Defender), that operates against internet malware and spyware. Just like Anti-Virus, keep it updated, and do a full system scan weekly.
4.If someone sends you an attachment in e-mail or instant messaging, do not open it. If it is a picture, text or sound file (these attachments end in the extensions .txt, .jpeg, .gif, .bmp, .tif, .mp3, .htm, .html, and .avi), you are probably safe. If someone you know very well sends you a Word attachment or other type of file, e-mail them to ask them if they meant to send it to you. If they say yes, you can open it, but you might still be at risk if they are not good about running Anti-Virus scans or careful about what they download. Be wary of attachments with a double extension, such as .txt.vb or .jpg.exe, as the system will only recognize the extension to the extreme right, and run the file as such. Double extensions are often a good indicator that the file is malicious.
5.Do not use disks that other people gave you, even from work. The disk could be infected with a virus. Of course, you can run a virus scan on it first to check it out, but AV programs are not 100% effective.
6.Do not download software from just any old website. If it is a reputable site that you trust, you are probably safe. The threat is not only from software; don't download Word documents or other non-HTML files that have something other than one of the extensions listed above, either.
7.Set up your Windows Update to automatically download patches and upgrades. This will allow your computer to automatically download any updates to both the operating system in Internet Explorer. These updates fix security holes in both pieces of software.
8.Consider switching to a different web browser. Other web browsers (such as Firefox or Opera) are considered to have better security than Internet Explorer; some people also see them as more flexible and extensible browsers.
9.Be careful when surfing. You can get a malicious script from a webpage and not know it. If you have your IE set up for the maximum security settings, you are probably safe. You can try disabling javascript, but I'm not sure if this will entirely help, and it will make your web browsing pretty boring. If you ever get a window asking if you want to allow an automatic install, say "No" unless you know the site requesting the install. Also, don't go to any porn sites. Those are almost always viruses.
10.Read about the latest virus threats so you are aware of the potential danger. Go to Symantec's page to read about them daily.
11.Try to balance paranoia with common sense. Some people get really weird about viruses, spyware, etc. It's just a computer! Back up your data and follow these steps, and it shouldn't be a big problem. Some people would suggest that you make sure you have a firewall and run anti-spyware programs as well. I'm not sure either of those will protect you from viruses, but they will protect you from hacking and from spyware. Microsoft's Antispyware and Ad-Aware are the best anti-spyware/virus programs I have found. Good luck!
12.Use a software firewall! Even if you have a hardware firewall, always use a software firewall (ex. Norton, Mcafee, there's also free ones- ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm).
13.Scan things you download! Now don't be a total nut with this. But if you download something from a site that you don't know/trust, then scan it before opening it. Anything you get from P2P software you should scan, as you are getting it from a stranger. Balance scanning things with number 11, don't go nuts scanning everything you download.
14.View the files in a Sandbox.

Tips
•PC World and other computer magazines will help you keep aware of the latest info about viruses and other things going on the Internet.
•http://www.cnet.com CNET is a good place to find current updates on new viruses and security issues.
•You can prevent many bugs(and ads) by blocking many sites using a host file. Like the one found here. This site also explains hosts file.
•Some Anti-Virus/Anti-Spam/Anti-Malware programs are resource intensive and unless you have high system resources can slow your system during the scan process.
•Many websites use ActiveX controls, which means you will have to use either Microsoft's Internet Explorer or install the Mozilla ActiveX plugin for Firefox. Many of these ActiveX controls can be malicious, so make sure you trust the author of the web page before installing any ActiveX controls.
•A good free anti-spyware is Spybot Search&Destroy. This program is better than Adaware SE, the scans bring up things Adaware SE didn't detect and delete them or keep them, depending on what you want to do with the program.
•Use other than Internet Explorer, as most hackers,viruses and spyware try to find computers that do and try to hack them. Try Opera, since it is so little known, nobody tries to hack it. Opera is developed by an European company. Firefox is Open Source and free and developed by Mozilla, fewer malware attacks it, however because it is well known, make sure you install updates because there are a few security holes.