4 Simple Steps for removing Spyware, Hijackers, Viruses, and other Malware

  • August 13, 2004
  • Read 167,587 times
 

If you are experiencing problems such as viruses that wont go away, your browser gets redirected to pages that you did not ask for, popups, slowness on your computer, or just a general sense that things may not be right, it is possible you are infected with some sort of malware. To remove this infection please follow these 4 simple steps outlined below. Not all of these steps may be necessary, but they can not hurt either, so we recommend you run all 4 steps regardless of your situation.

Step 1: Install an Anti-virus software

The first step in removing malware from your computer is to make sure you have an anti-virus program installed on your computer. Below are a list of good anti-virus programs that can be used as an anti-virus solution for your computer. Some of these are free, others are commercial, but almost all of them offer some sort of trial that you can use to remove malware from your computer.

Step 2: Run an Online Virus Scan

Not all virus scanners, though, are created equal, and may miss infections that other products do not. I therefore recommend that you run BOTH of the following online antivirus programs as they are both excellent and are a good start in our 4 step process:

Trend Micro's Housecall Online Virus Scan

Dr. Web's CureIt

Run both of these online scans and move on to the next step.


Step 3: Perform a scan using MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware and SUPERAntiSpyware

Along with your anti-virus scanner, a good general purpose anti-malware scanner is useful as well. We suggest that you scan your computer with both of these programs as one program may find infections that another does not. Guides on how to use both programs can be found below:

How to use MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware

How to use SUPERAntiSpyware


Step 4: Submit a malware removal request in our forums

Unfortunately there are some malware that are just too difficult to remove with automatic procedures such as the ones listed above. If you have followed all the previous steps and still have problems with your computer then we advise you to submit a malware removal request in our forums. Then one of our experts will analyze your log and advise you as to what to do next. Please do not attempt to fix any entries yourself as that can lead to damage to your operating system.

A preparation guide to be used before submitting a request for help in our forum can be found below.

Preparation Guide For Use Before Using Malware Removal Tools and Requesting Help

--
Lawrence Abrams
Bleeping Computer Basic Internet Security Tutorial

BleepingComputer.com: Computer Support & Tutorials for the beginning computer user.

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