Cleaning your PC

[Brian D]

I, like some here, have been hit with a minor virus. Not really a virus, but malware. This is undetectable by my Avast Antivirus software. Not sure why, but it is.

My indications were redirects on my Firefox. At first I could not figure it out simply because Avast did not detect it. But on some web pages, if I clicked a link it would open a new browser and take me nowhere. Why? Because I had several add-ons that protected me from that. Still, my browser would lock up and I would have to use task manager to shut FF down.

(The add-ons I use are Ghostery, AdBlock Plus, and FBPurity)

After some research, I found three free software tools that solved my issues. (Google or Yahoo! the program name to download)

adwcleaner.exe - this program found some files hiding in my system that were not suppose to be there. The package deleted them.

Rougekiller.exe - this program found bad registry entries that the other packages missed. The package deleted them also.

Hitman_pro.exe - this program is like a virus scanner but much faster. I cannot say that it will catch my problem, but it was very quick so I keep it on my machine.

As good preventive maintenance one should clean their system every once in awhile. Who knows what we pick up when we move about the internet.

Good luck!

 

[Justin_NSA]

Good info Brian. Always download fixes from a trusted source or you may be installing yet other problems.

 

[anchorclanker]

When the kids were home and with four computers in the house at the time, around 2005 I stopped buying antivirus programs for mine and my wife's computer. We were using Norton, and for four computers the cost was just nuts, and even with Norton we still got bugs. Not to mention how slow the computer ran with the software running. The last straw was when our daughters computer hard drive failed, and was blamed on a virus. She had moved into an apt that offered free Norton protection if you bought the cable TV package with DSL and phone service. BANG, she lost everything she had been working on in College.

My theory, and more than a few computer guys have agreed with me, was that more than 90% of the viruses were coming from the antivirus software companies themselves. There is obviously no way to prove it one way or another, but once cleared of the software, our computer has had a much less incidence of bugs, most are more bothersome than anything else, and most anything it has gotten I have had very good success clearing on my own.

As the OP eludes, Google the problem your having, and you can usually find a fix. What I have seen is that the bugs are continually being developed, and sites that may have had a good fix in the past, dont always keep up with the latest bugs. Most of the attacks I have recieved came from something I had to download. Most often windows or your browzer catches them and warns you. Even so, we occasionally bit, and got bit in the process.

 

[Mark Ferrick]

Another tool for your virus arsenal is HIJACKTHIS. It examines all aspects of your registry. Best if you have the output saved before a virus strikes. You can even upload your output and they will help. Check it out.

 

[Forrest15112]

I've recently removed Avira free anti virus from all of my pc's and loaded Microsoft Security Essentials. It's top rated, free, no popup ads for a premium version, and runs smoothly.

 

[RTMBoston]

Another good one is CCleaner. It will fix registry problems as well us allow you to remove items from the startup. It's the only free program I've ever used in my 20 years in IT.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

I always say if I catch one virus hacker, I will cut his arms off up to his shoulders. I will cut his nose off so he can't punch a keyboard, and sow his mouth shut so he can't use a device for keyboard entry. Or, just draw & quarter him.
He will pay for all I didn't catch!

Aside from this, I'm a peaceful loving guy.

Has anyone heard of Antimalware bytes.org?
It is a free virus/maleware protection & the pro version has extra tools ($19.99 I think). I use Win Security Essentials but AM finds some bugs SE misses. I've been using it for about 3 years now. It will run alongside SE, but you can just use it as a backup virus/malware scanner checker to SE.

I don't think much of third party virus software and the prices they charge. Some when installed are a ***** to get rid of, & can cause more problems than the virus you're trying to kill......

CR

 

[ariadne]

I am a partner in an engineering company. One of the most arrogant partners decided to move away from apple to windows so his son could have a job in IT. It worked. We soon needed 3 guys whereas we needed no one when we used Macs. I know how to do the engineering. I am not interested in learning to keep a computer running. I left, started my own small company, use Macs and keep developing the engineering business, not wasting time on anti virus.

Even if I did catch a virus writer, I would not draw and quarter him after he were keel hauled on an old spell hull boat that had not been scraped in a few years.

 

[Bob4203]

Microsoft Security Essentials..........................the best.