How to Clean a Computer of Malware
Ignore pop-ups telling you that you're infected with a virus, and that if you buy their product they will remove it for you., Notice the overall health of your PC., Run multiple Malware removal tools., Use a bootable anti-virus/anti-Malware .
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Ignore pop-ups telling you that you're infected with a virus
This is usually a piece of Malware in itself.
It might be included in what is known as a Malware suite, where you become infected with multiple strands of Malware at once.
These strands may include pop-ups offering a product, keyloggers (a program that records your key strokes and sends them back to the metaphorical mother ship), Spyware (records your browsing habits to share with manufacturers who want to advertise their products), and rootkits (which is a program embedded in the root of your system in between the kernel and the software, this allows the Malware to not return requests from the software that are sent to look for the infection).
Back to the topic at hand.
If you were to get this software that was being advertised in the pop-up it may remove the most visible part of the Malware , and even may give your system a slight performance boost from its previously infected state.
But it WILL NOT remove the Malware in its entirety.
The best way to remove it is to stop the process from running and then perform system scans that would look for the infection, and remove it. -
Step 2: and that if you buy their product they will remove it for you.
Is it running slower than it should be when you do not have many processes running? Maybe you've looked into it and noticed that your system says it isn't using up hardly any resources, but you can clearly tell that it is not running up to par.
In this case you are probably infected, but the strand of Malware you are dealing with is hiding itself from you.
This just goes to show the ingenuity of the coders behind this product nowadays.
The process behind removing it is still somewhat the same.
You should start by either stopping, or suspending any processes that you know are related to the Malware , (it wouldn't hurt to close any processes to programs you aren't currently using as well) and begin running system scans for the infection. , Today's Malware is written in such a way that it knows to hide itself from some of the more well known scanning tools (i.e.
Norton, AVG, even Malwarebytes).
Which is just another reason why you as the PC user needs to run multiple scans to be able to pick up on the various Malware that may be on your computer. , This is simply a CD (or flash drive) that can be booted into before entering windows that contains anti-virus/anti-Malware scanners.
Most of them are even capable of downloading updated virus definitions from the internet.
Using these tools is an excellent way of scanning for a root-kit.
A root-kit is embedded below the operating system so that when process explorer, or an anti-Malware scanner, requests to know what is either using system resources, or if there is indeed Malware, it can exclude any results that would expose it to the user. -
Step 3: Notice the overall health of your PC.
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Step 4: Run multiple Malware removal tools.
-
Step 5: Use a bootable anti-virus/anti-Malware .
Detailed Guide
This is usually a piece of Malware in itself.
It might be included in what is known as a Malware suite, where you become infected with multiple strands of Malware at once.
These strands may include pop-ups offering a product, keyloggers (a program that records your key strokes and sends them back to the metaphorical mother ship), Spyware (records your browsing habits to share with manufacturers who want to advertise their products), and rootkits (which is a program embedded in the root of your system in between the kernel and the software, this allows the Malware to not return requests from the software that are sent to look for the infection).
Back to the topic at hand.
If you were to get this software that was being advertised in the pop-up it may remove the most visible part of the Malware , and even may give your system a slight performance boost from its previously infected state.
But it WILL NOT remove the Malware in its entirety.
The best way to remove it is to stop the process from running and then perform system scans that would look for the infection, and remove it.
Is it running slower than it should be when you do not have many processes running? Maybe you've looked into it and noticed that your system says it isn't using up hardly any resources, but you can clearly tell that it is not running up to par.
In this case you are probably infected, but the strand of Malware you are dealing with is hiding itself from you.
This just goes to show the ingenuity of the coders behind this product nowadays.
The process behind removing it is still somewhat the same.
You should start by either stopping, or suspending any processes that you know are related to the Malware , (it wouldn't hurt to close any processes to programs you aren't currently using as well) and begin running system scans for the infection. , Today's Malware is written in such a way that it knows to hide itself from some of the more well known scanning tools (i.e.
Norton, AVG, even Malwarebytes).
Which is just another reason why you as the PC user needs to run multiple scans to be able to pick up on the various Malware that may be on your computer. , This is simply a CD (or flash drive) that can be booted into before entering windows that contains anti-virus/anti-Malware scanners.
Most of them are even capable of downloading updated virus definitions from the internet.
Using these tools is an excellent way of scanning for a root-kit.
A root-kit is embedded below the operating system so that when process explorer, or an anti-Malware scanner, requests to know what is either using system resources, or if there is indeed Malware, it can exclude any results that would expose it to the user.
About the Author
Marie Graham
A passionate writer with expertise in creative arts topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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