Microsoft Windows Troubleshooting Guide
- Introduction
- Malware Removal
- Fixing Networking Problems
- Repairing a System that Won't Boot
- Optimizing Windows
Dealing with Viruses
The more serious Malware problems are caused by Viruses, which by design tries to maliciously damage your computer system. Because of the Malicious nature of Viruses, getting them removed from your computer can sometimes be a challenge. Fortunately, at this time getting a true Malicious Virus is getting more and more rare since most online criminals try to make money using Adware/Fraudware/Trojans instead of simply damaging systems.
However, if you are one of the unlucky ones that do get a Malicious Virus, this page will try to guide you on how to remove viruses from your system using a few different tools. The tools on this page are listed in alphabetical order and this is by no means a complete list of Antivirus products available. These are simply the ones that I have used to remove viruses from computers. At the bottom of the page I have also a list of links to various utilities that were created for specific viruses, so if you know the exact virus you have you may find a tool written for that virus to get rid of it.
Avast Antivirus
http://www.avast.com
Avast Home Edition - Full Installer
Avast Professional Edition - Full Installer - works as a 60 day trial
Avast provides 2 different versions of it's product to home users, the Home Edition and the Professional Edition. The Home Edition is cost-free to use, although they do require you to register it every year, which confuses people thinking they have to purchase it when you don't. The Professional Edition does cost money to use it, but it can be used as a 60 day trial, so it can be used cost free to get rid of viruses.
Avast asking to run a boot-time scan and testing the memory for viruses at startup
What really sets Avast apart from most of the other Antivirus products is that it provides a "boot time scan", so if your computer is infected with a virus that prevents antivirus applications from running Avast will usually get rid of it using the boot time scan. However, the boot time scan does take forever to run, so unless you cannot get your antivirus software to run, I don't recommend the boot time scan for normal scans.
Starting a Virus Scan using Avast and Avast running the scan
Overall, Avast does seem to pick up most viruses and get rid of them. The performance hit on your system is pretty minimal for an antivirus product. The interface is pretty arcaic, but you can switch it to an "advanced interface" that is a little more managable.
Using Avast's Advanced Interface
The major problem that I found with Avast is that the company is located outside the United States and the support is not very good. Also if you are looking at purchasing multiple licenses you may have to wire them money. If you simply need to get a virus removed, or just use it at home this is a good solution.
AVG Free
http://www.grisoft.com/
AVG Free Home Page
AVG Download Page
AVG Free is probably one of the most popular Free Antivirus products out there right now. The Free Version doesn't nag you to register it or anything, you simply just install it and it works.
Options to unselect installing the AVG Security Toolbar and sending anonymous information
Starting with version 8, AVG has been providing the AVG Security Toolbar with the install, personally I don't like it and just after they released it there was a huge backlash from the users, stating that it slowed their browsing down and they were concerned with the data that was being collected with the toolbar. Since the backlash, AVG allows you to not install the Security Toolbar during installation and I recommend that you don't install it at this time.
Starting a Virus Scan using AVG and AVG showing the scan results
Overall AVG Free does catch most viruses out there and for a free product is decent enough to run as your main Antivirus software. However, with the last few releases I have noticed a few computers that took a pretty good performance hit when running AVG, but that may be rare. If your computer does seem to become sluggish after installing AVG, you may want to try another Antivirus Solution.
Bitdefender
http://www.bitdefender.com/
Bitdefender Free Edition Home Page
I haven't personally used Bitdefender as the primary Antivirus program on a computer yet, but I have used it repeatedly to get some pretty bad viruses off of computers that other Antivirus products couldn't detect. So, if you still think you may have a virus after you cleaned it with other products, it may be a good idea to scan it with Bitdefender.
Updating Bitdefender and running a Virus Scan using Bitdefender
When you first start Bitdefender, it will ask you to "login" to a web account, if you are not going to use it as your primary antivirus solution you can simply skip this step.
The first time you run Bitdefender, I highly recommend that you update the program as the installation file doesn't get updated too often and there probably will be updates to it.
Bitdefender scanning a system and showing the scan results
Bitdefenders scans usually don't take too long and it is somewhat good at removing the threats, however if it can't remove the threat it does provide more information on the threat. Write this information down and you can download a utility specifically designed for that virus to get rid of it. (see below)
Microsoft's Security Essentials
http://www.microsoft.com/
Security Essentials Home Page
Microsoft has recently stepped into the Antivirus field with their "Security Essentials" product. Since this is a relatively new product, I am not sure exactly how it does at catching viruses, or how well it protects your system, although the reviews have been favorable.
Starting a scan with Microsoft's Security Essentials
With my limited exposure to this product, I have found that it is free, it does detect spyware and it seems to integrate nicely with Windows without having too much of a performance hit. I guess time will tell whether or not this is a good product or not.
Specific Virus Removal Tools
If you cannot get an Antivirus program to remove certain viruses, there are many companies that provide free tools that will get rid of the viruses for you. Remember to write down the exact virus and keep note of the Antivirus program that you used to detect it and use the links below to see if there is a utility that will remove the virus for you.
http://www.avg.com/us-en/virus-removal
http://www.bitdefender.com/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/
http://www.symantec.com/norton/security_response/removaltools.jsp
