All About and How to Remove Viruses, Trojans, Worms, or Malware

How to Remove the Infection Manually

2011-06-25T22:50:00.000-07:00

We have finally arrived at the section you came here for. You are most likely reading this tutorial because you are infected with some sort of malware and want to remove it. With this knowledge that you are infected, it is also assumed that you examined the programs running on your computer and found one that does not look right. You did further research by searching in Google and have learned that it is an infection and you now want to remove it.
If you have identified the particular program that is part of the malware, and you want to remove it, please follow these steps.

Download and extract the Autoruns program by Sysinternals to C:\Autoruns
Reboot into Safe Mode so that the malware is not started when you are doing these steps. Many malware monitor the keys that allow them to start and if they notice they have been removed, will automatically replace that startup key. For this reason booting into safe mode allows us to get past that defense in most cases.
Navigate to the C:\Autoruns folder you created in Step 1 and double-click on autoruns.exe.
When the program starts, click on the Options menu and enable the following options by clicking on them. This will place a checkmark next to each of these options.
1. Include empty locations
2. Verify Code Signatures
3. Hide Signed Microsoft Entries
Then press the F5 key on your keyboard to refresh the startups list using these new settings.
The program shows information about your startup entries in 8 different tabs. For the most part, the filename you are looking for will be found under the Logon or the Services tabs, but you should check all the other tabs to make sure they are not loading elsewhere as well. Click on each tab and look through the list for the filename that you want to remove. The filename will be found under the Image Path column. There may be more than one entry associated with the same file as it is common for malware to create multiple startup entries. It is important to note that many malware programs disguise themselves by using the same filenames as valid Microsoft files. it is therefore important to know exactly which file, and the folder they are in, that you want to remove.
Once you find the entry that is associated with the malware, you want to delete that entry so it will not start again on the next reboot. To do that right click on the entry and select delete. This startup entry will now be removed from the Registry.
Now that we made it so it will not start on boot up, you should delete the file using My Computer or Windows Explorer. If you can not see the file, it may be hidden.
When you are finished removing the malware entries from the Registry and deleting the files, reboot into normal mode as you will now be clean from the infection.

Use an Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Program to Remove the Infections

2011-06-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

Make sure you are using an anti-virus program and that the anti-virus program is updated to use the latest definitions. If you do not currently have an anti-virus installed, you can select one from the following list and use it to scan and clean your computer. The list below includes both free and commercial anti-virus programs, but even the commercial ones typically have a trial period in which you can scan and clean your computer before you have to pay for it.

It is also advised that you install and scan your computer with MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware and SUPERAntiSpyware. Both of these are excellent programs and have a good track record at finding newer infections that the more traditional anti-virus programs miss.

MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware SUPERAntiSpyware
After performing these instructions if you still are infected, you can use the instructions to manually remove the infection.

How Infections Start

2011-06-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Just like any program, in order for the program to work, it must be started. Malware is similar in this respect and it must be started some way or another in order to do what it was created to do. For the most part malware will run by creating a configuration in the Windows Registry in order to make it start when the computer starts.

Unfortunately, though, in the Windows operating system there are many different ways to make a program start which can make it hard for the average computer user to find manually. Luckily, there are programs that allow us to cut this confusion and see the various programs that are automatically starting when windows boots. The program recommended, because it is detailed and free is Autoruns from Sysinternals.

When you run this program it will list all the various programs that start when your computer is booted into Windows. For the most part, the majority of these programs are safe and should be left alone unless you know what you are doing or know you do not need them to run at startup.

At this point, you should download Autoruns and try it out. Just run the Autoruns.exe and look at all the programs that start automatically. Don't uncheck or delete anything at this point. Just examine the information to see an overview of the amount of programs that are starting automatically. When you feel comfortable with what you are seeing, move on to the next section.

What is a Virus, Trojan, Worm, or Malware?

2011-06-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

If you read the newspaper, watch the news, or use a computer then you may have heard about viruses and other malware, They are those malicious programs that once they infect your computer will begin creating havoc for your machine. What most people do not know is that there is many different types of viruses categorized in the general category of Malware.

Malware - Malware is programming or files that are developed for doing harm. Thus, malware includes computer viruses, Trojan horses, spyware, worms, hijackers, and certain types of adware.

This blog is going to focus on malware that is considered a virus, trojan, and worms. Though this information can also be used to remove most other types of malware. I will not be going into specific details about any one particular infection, but rather provide a broad overview of how these infections can be removed. For the most part these instructions should allow you to remove a good deal of infections, but there are some that need special steps to be removed and those won't be covered in this blog.

Adware - A program that generates pop-ups on your computer or displays advertisements. It is important to note that not all adware programs are necessarily considered malware. There are many legitimate programs that are given for free that display ads in their programs in order to generate revenue. As long as this information is provided up front then they are generally not considered malware.

Backdoor - A program that allows a remote user to execute commands and tasks on your computer without your permission. These types of programs are typically used to launch attacks on other computers, distribute copyrighted software or media, or hack other computers.

Dialler - A program that typically dials a premium rate number that has per minute charges over and above the typical call charge. These calls are with the intent of gaining access to pornographic material.

Hijackers - A program that attempts to hijack certain Internet functions like redirecting your start page to the hijacker's own start page, redirecting search queries to a undesired search engine, or replace search results from popular search engines with their own information.

Spyware - A program that monitors your activity or information on your computer and sends that information to a remote computer without your knowledge.

Trojan - A program that has been designed to appear innocent but has been intentionally designed to cause some malicious activity or to provide a backdoor to your system.

Virus - A program that when run, has the ability to self-replicate by infecting other programs and files on your computer. These programs can have many effects ranging from wiping your hard drive, displaying a joke in a small box, or doing nothing at all except to replicate itself. These types of infections tend to be localized to your computer and not have the ability to spread to another computer on their own. The word virus has incorrectly become a general term that encompasses trojans, worms, and viruses.

Worm - A program that when run, has the ability to spread to other computers on its own using either mass-mailing techniques to email addresses found on your computer or by using the Internet to infect a remote computer using known security holes.