How to remove spyware, adaware, and viruses and keep it that way!

My guide is helpful but only helpful as far as sofware can take you.
If after reading and following my guide you still have problems with malware, spyware, adaware, and viruses please refer to gerryf19s posts below.

I have used this method to clean computers for years and it seems to work flawlessly all programs are completely free and have no bundled software besides Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0. Which is well worth the money in my opinion. Here is were you can get free trials of Kaspersky software. I would get Internet Security not just the antivirus because it does a lot more then just viruses.

If you simply can't afford it then you can google AVG and download that free anti virus. Seeing as it is free it is clearly not going to be the best but it is also better then nothing.

Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 Recommended Settings:

If you are lazy and do not want to read this secion i have made it easy for you. Download the attachment on this post unzip it open up Kaspersky settings click on Sevice (second to last on the list) under "configuration manager" click load... and load up that file.

Here are the settings i would change. Set everything to auto block/disinfect/delete. Go to the "threats and exclusions" tab and check everything. If you are useing a P2P app like limewire or utorrent you do not want stealth mode, go to firewall on main settings page, under filtration system there is a settings button click on it then go to zones and uncheck stealth mode but only if you are running a p2p app. On my computer i have it do a full system scan every night at 4:00am. Almost forgot you do not want to do a startup scan it will slow the computer to a crall on startup to turn it off go to startup objects on the main settings page and under "run mode" uncheck the box. I do not do any of the other scans just the my computer one. If you use a free email like yahoo mail that does not use outlook or another email app you can turn off anit spam just click on anit spam in the settings page and uncheck enable anti spam. As well as parental controls if you do not use it turn it off. Lastly if you did not notic the Registry guard is off by defult. I left it this way because i found it to be anoying. You can also have Kaspersky require a password when ever you change a setting buy going to the settings page click on Service then check enable password protection.



IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY INFECTED:

First, just to make sure it does not happen again install, update and click enable all protection with SpywareBlaster (update once a month or pay $9 for auto updates)

Then download, install, update , and run Spybot Search and Destroy

Also download, install, update, and run (choose full system scan!) Adaware 2007

Once all that is done. It would be a good idea to run CCleaner just install it go to cleaner button then cheackmark all boxes in both tabs and click run cleaner

To make sure you do not have any trojans/viruses download the free trial of Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 and run a full system scan with the recommened setting i posted above.... i have used it for years and have tryed many others like it and it is by far the best and also my fav. software I use.

To go one step further you can open CCleaner and go to the tools button then to the startup button then google all the .exe files listed and if the description you get says it is not useful then delete it



FOR FRESH FORMATS:

To make sure you never get adaware/spyware install, update and click enable all protection with this program (update once a month or pay $9 for auto updates)

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Buy Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0.... i have used it for years and have tryed many others like it and it is by far the best and also my fav. software i have ever used.
http://www.kaspersky.com/

To go one step further you can open CCleaner and go to the tools button then to the startup button then google all the .exe files listed and if the description you get says it is not useful then delete it



My Opinion:
There is no need to switch to firefox if you like IE7 then stick with it. Switching to firefox is only ignoreing the problem seeing as you will still have viruses and spyware you just will not see *some* of the affects of those viruses and spyware.


I assure you if you do these things you will never have to worry about viruses/spyware/adaware ever again... o yeah and also say goodbye to all popups and ads in internet explorer besides flash ads thanks to kaspersky

I hope you liked my how to seeing as it is my first. If you have any suggestions please post.

 

Hah, thanks, this was helpful. I didn't know about Kaspersky until now

 

i have a feeling that download is a virus.

 

Yes i go through all that trouble making a guide on how to remove viruses then i put one in it how clever.

 

For Fresh Formats* not formates.

Tried* not tryed.

Making* not makeing.

Useful* not usefull....

 

I never said i could spell

Edit: Fixed... happy now

 

Nonetheless, it seems useful. I'll judge it when I get home in... 9 hours >.<

 

I don't know how to say this and not come off as an arrogant jerk, but here goes:

If that is your "solution" to fixing a malware-infected pc, then any seriously infected PC you have ever fixed is still infected.

I think it's great that you would want to help people, but if you were really knowledgable about malware, you would know the basic truth--no program is perfect and cleaning malware is difficult work.

I haven't used Kapersky's newest offering and I will grant it might be a great piece of software, but I would be stunned if it can clean all the malware off a truly messed up PC. Malware hides, it perpetuates itself and it is always evolving.

Removing real malware (not the simpleton scripts that make up the majority of this crap) requires a person to work through the angles and evaluate how it is working.

If you really want to learn how to remove malware, please, take some time and educate yourself. Join a malware fighting community (geekstogo, tomcoyote) and learn the ins and outs from people who are doing it every day.

All you've done here, really, is slap up a couple of good programs names -- and they are good programs, don't get me wrong.

But they will only get you about 70 percent of the way when it comes to cleaning up a machine.

Seriously, you seem enthusiastic and good-natured. Take my advice and you will learn a lot of valuable stuff and then you will really be able to remove malware effectively.

 

why dont you us the "30%" hes missing i kinda wanna know for future reference thanks

 

Your answer is already there...

And, well-said, gerryf19.

 

I've lulled myself into a (false?) sense of security. NOD32 + Sygate Firewall is up all the time, and I run Spybot & Ad-aware scans once in a blue moon. The main trick is to use an obscure brower. Even Firefox is starting to become a spyware magnet.

 

I will take that as an honest question, and amplify what kappa.squared already pulled out.

...because things are always changing. How do you find a rootkit? what do you do when two pieces of malware are "protecting" each other (ie, kill one, and the other reloads it while you are killing the second); what do you do when the registry is so corrupted you cannot load windows? What do you do when Windows itself is loading the malware through a machine service before you can even login?

I cannot tell him because it is different all the time. Sometimes, just diagnosing a malware infestation is difficult.

That 30 percent might seem small as a subset of malware infections, but those infestations that make up that 30 percent require a deeper insight that takes a long time to develop.

Telling him how to remove that 30 percent means he needs to work at my side for several months actually doing it, learn the ins and outs of Operating System and also have the occassional "eureka" moment (and even some dumb luck).

But, he (and you if you are sol inclined) can start by taking the initiative and spending some time in the trenches, rather than expecting a couple of off the shelf solutions to solve all your troubles.

The desire for push button solutions is understandable, but really isn't realistic.

Remember, the people who make the malware are among the best and brightest (albeit on the devient side) computer minds. Sadly, they have the edge over the good guys (fewer in number, not necessarily brighter).

 

ah ok i get what your saying ill check out those sites, thanks

 

I have used these methods to fix computer that took 10-20 min just to get the start menu up that is after waithing 30-45 min to boot the computer up... computers that have been unprotected on a network for years and this method has resurected them from the dark. I am not saying that you are wrong and that i am right. If after i have been running spyware blaster and kaspersky for few months then i use spybot and adaware 2007 i would get maybe 1-2 infected files as to a computer just running norton 2007 which i get 90 files infected with spybot and 100-200 with adaware 2007 (true story). So in conclution my how to is not a 100% no viruses, adaware, spyware. I know this but for the average user that does not go out looking for them will find this quite helpful.

Edit: I would have to say that about 95% of users i have seen anywere just needed to be directed to a few good apps to fix there spyware, adaware, virus issues. Not a team of experts.

 

It's just not that simple. Malware can cripple malware removal software, unload themselves so you cannot find them, hide from the OS in Alternate Data Streams, redirect your efforts to learn about them, integrate so deeply with the operating system that you better know darn well what you are doing or you will never load Windows again.....well, I am not going to get into an argument with you--pretty soon we will be comparing war wounds like Quint, Brodie and Hooper from Jaws trying to one-up each other (and ironically, Hooper was right, they should have gotten a bigger boat--kind of a metaphor for our discussion)

If you are happy with where you are, and think that is all you need, than nothing I am going to say will convince you otherwise. I am saying that for people who read your thread, that it is not that easy and that it is a far more dangerous world out there than your thread would lead them to believe.

 

were would you come across such a program? The computers that i have fixed do not seem to be infected any longer. That is all i was trying to say.

 

I wish I knew where these people find this stuff--my worst case infections have almost always involved people with a) peer to peer file sharing programs b) instant messaging c) a penchant for "pirated" software or 4) extensive porn collections--or a combination of the above.

I always say "God save me from horny teenage boys and chatty teenage girls...the former probably being the worse of the two."

 

Well i do all of the above no porn collection though

So in conclusion my guide is helpful but only helpful as far as sofware can take you. Is this about right?

Just a little proof of concept.

Source were this whole guide originated

 

The best solution to spyware, adware, and viruses is to not get them at all.

Firefox. Adblock. AVG. Firewall. Smart surfing habits.

That's all it takes.

 

What if you are already infected?

Found this on the web

 

Run AVG, give Spybot a spin, and switch to the aforementioned programs (Fox, block, a-v, firewall).

But to be honest, if you're severely infected, it's simpler to just reinstall, and start afresh with good programs and good habits. Personally, that's what I'd do, and it's why I frequently image my operating system partition.

 

Hmm, if
r..., s ,.,. h .. ,.e .. ,.l .,. , p .,., 7 @ .,, h . . o ,. t , m ,, a ,. i ., l ., is so confident in KIV, why does he disguise his email?

Even Kaspersky, on it's own page, says it removes 86 percent of the malware from an infected computer....better than others, but only 86 percent. And that is known malware.

If someone was pointing a gun at you and you had a 14 percent change that you would be hit, I wonder how comfortable you would feel?

And just whose studies are they citing? For viruses they cite at least someone I know, but for malware, they cite some german site I have never heard of and PC World--but I cannot find the review they cite on their website. And no mention of spyware killing king, webroot?

They cherry picked the results.

Listen Kapersky is one of the two best anti-virus programs out there, and given their track record, they are probably putting out a very good product for in this suite (adding malware, firewall, spam), but your undying, "unthinking" devotion to the product is a little silly.

Listen, if you don't want to get called on something, don't put up a post asking people to call you on it (with a poll no less).

Kid, you crack me up

take care

 

At least i made you laugh I learned a few things and i still think the guide is helpful or at least 70-80% according to you. oh well i say topic closed

 

I just had to comment...

"pretty soon we will be comparing war wounds like Quint, Brodie and Hooper from Jaws trying to one-up each other (and ironically, Hooper was right, they should have gotten a bigger boat--kind of a metaphor for our discussion)" simply one of the finest scenes on film

And, as one who has messed with spyware, a company had something like 43000 hits with Counter Spy and their computer was not working for weeks before they though it was serious enough o call me. It cost them a few hundred, and I ate dinner while Counter Spy chugged along, but I did manage by luck I am sure to get them thru the day. The reformat idea really is a good one, and it is also really, the only SURE way to know what is on your machine.

Good software, awareness, and knowing when to fold em and reformat are a pretty good step in fighting the problem.

Thanks, Dave

 

First step in not getting malware or viruses is to stop using buggy operating systems But until that happens, the initial post here is good for "light" infections. Really, prevention is the best cure. Start from a clean base, and keep it that way through good, safe practices online, disable ActiveX, don't use Internet Explorer, don't run programs in your email, don't allow scripts to run in MS Office (better yet, don't use it at all), etc. To really clean it, you need to seriously know what's going on, know what files the registry is stored in, how the boot process works, what files are loaded when, why, how filesystems work, etc. Serious knowledge that most people don't have (and don't care to have, nor should they theoretically need it, if systems were built properly in the first place)

 

So what i am getting from all of these posts is basically do what is in my guide before you post a new topic saying 'i have spyware help'?

Just to clear things up i never thougtht that my guide would clean/catch 100% of spyware, viruses, .... this is a known fact that software can only do so much. This is why i have changed the first few sentences of my guide to

 

See sig.

As for cleaning an already infected system, you need to use more tools. Sure, spybot, adaware, spyware doctor, AVG anti-spyware, and a whole host of others are great tools, but they don't always delete all traces of malware.
Process Explorer, Autoruns , and Google are your best friends. I clean malware-infected systems for a living, and these are essentially the only tools needed to do the job (if you can still login to Windows). ERD Commander (no longer available, MS bought out Winternals and has yet to re-release this excellent tool) and Hijack This also prove useful for systems that are incapable of logging into Windows.

If you've never used ProcExp and Autoruns before, I suggest you watch this video of a presentation by Mark Russinovich (creator of the aforementioned tools).

 

I have a question.. what is the difference between Kaspersky Internet Security and regular Kaspersky Anti-Virus?

 

awesome demonstration...Russinovich said it better than I ever could (and any serious IT person should read his book "Microsoft Windows Internals"

Soldier, Kaspersky Internet Security is a suite that addresses Malware, viruses, spam, and has a firewall

Kaspersky Anti-Virus only deals with viruses