11-02-2016, 03:00 PM
(This post was last modified: 27-06-2017, 02:04 AM by [UK]_InfectedShrooms.)
I'm reposting this here because it seems more appropriate and deleting the post in the other thread.
I know this is late and nobody asked but I don't like seeing people getting scammed by paying for anti virus software(Norton, McAfee, Avast, anything, etc). No a/v software can prevent you from getting viruses, maybe some viruses but definitely not all of them. They can only help you get rid of them after the fact. No single anti virus software can get rid of all of the viruses that are out there either and sometimes after the fact is too late when the virus has corrupted your operating system and the only option is to reinstall the OS.
I recommend using only free software to clean up a virus infection as that is all that has been used at 3 different computer shops I have worked for over the years. One of the shops I use to work for would sell Norton subscriptions for 65$(we only paid 15$) a year and when the PC would come in to get viruses removed the first thing we would do is remove Norton so we could run our free tools to actually clean up the PC, then reinstall their Norton after it was cleaned up. I know, how messed up.
The first thing you want to do is find out if your OS is corrupted, because if it is there's no point in wasting time running A/V software. This is easy to do just run command prompt as admin and type: "sfc /scannow"(without the quotes) then hit enter. This runs the System File Checker built in with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. If it comes back saying it found errors it was unable to fix then you have to back up your personal data and reinstall windows. If it says no integrity violations were found then your OS is in good shape and you can continue with the virus removal.
First thing you'll want to do is download revo uninstaller, it's free software that will scan for leftover files and registry entries that would normally get left behind by the built in uninstaller provided by Windows. After you have it downloaded and saved to your desktop or a flash drive you'll want to boot into safe mode and run revo there. Remove everything you don't need using the advanced option provided by Revo, if you don't know what a certain program is just google it a lot of times you will find a program associated with viruses. Dead give aways are programs like "Driver Updater", "Some fake A/V software 2016", "PC Optimizer", "SpeedUpYourPC", etc. You'll also want to get rid of anything with the word Toolbar in it to help speed up your web browsers. You will also want to uninstall any A/V software you currently have. You can reinstall them after the cleanup is done.
After that part is finished you can restart the PC and boot in normally. The first thing you'll want to do is turn off system restore points and delete your old restore points as they could be infected. Some of the tools you are about to use will try to create a restore point, if it's turned off they won't be able to which is what you want since the restore point they would create is going to be infected too. You may have to google how do this.
Now you are ready to download/run the actual anti virus software section. I'll provide links below.
1. Run Rkill by itself don't restart yet
2. Run JRT by itself don't restart yet
3. Run Adwcleaner by itself. It will automatically restart your PC when you finish it.
4. Run Malwarebytes (enable rootkit scanning in the options first) and Super AntiSpyware together don't restart until both are finished
5. Run RogueKiller and don't restart yet
Go to your downloads folder and delete all .exe's/applications, clear out your recycle bin.
Clean up your web browsers by removing any unwanted addons/extensions and resetting them.
Turn off unwanted start up programs and services in msconfig/task manager depending on your OS.
Uninstall malwarebytes/super antispyware to help your PC run faster. Restart and enjoy.
Links: (Only use the free editions)
Revo Uninstaller: http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_unin...nload.html
Rkill: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/
JRT: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download...oval-tool/
Adwcleaner: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware: https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/
Super AntiSpyware: http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html
RogueKiller: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/roguekiller/
Other A/V software you can run if you'd like:
Kaspersky's TDSSKiller: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/tdsskiller/
Emsisoft AntiMalware: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download...timalware/
Avira: https://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus
ESET Online Scanner: https://www.eset.com/us/home/online-scanner/
Panda: http://www.pandasecurity.com/usa/homeuse...antivirus/
Other tools, use at your own risk as they could break your OS if not used properly.
CCleaner: https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download
Combofix: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/combofix/
Tweaking Tool: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download...ll-in-one/
I know, way too much to read. I find myself explaining this to people from time to time though so now it'll be nice to have a link to send them to.
There's been a new wave of viruses going around called ransomware that will encrypt your data and hold it ransom for a fee. There use to be no way to fix this issue you just had to reinstall the OS and lost all of your data. Now there are some new programs coming out to combat this threat.
Update, Bit Defender now has an anti-ransomware tool:
https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/an...-tool.html
Malwarebytes Anti Ransomware Beta
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download...ansomware/
Emisoft has some ransomware specific decrypters that can be found here:
https://decrypter.emsisoft.com/
I know this is late and nobody asked but I don't like seeing people getting scammed by paying for anti virus software(Norton, McAfee, Avast, anything, etc). No a/v software can prevent you from getting viruses, maybe some viruses but definitely not all of them. They can only help you get rid of them after the fact. No single anti virus software can get rid of all of the viruses that are out there either and sometimes after the fact is too late when the virus has corrupted your operating system and the only option is to reinstall the OS.
I recommend using only free software to clean up a virus infection as that is all that has been used at 3 different computer shops I have worked for over the years. One of the shops I use to work for would sell Norton subscriptions for 65$(we only paid 15$) a year and when the PC would come in to get viruses removed the first thing we would do is remove Norton so we could run our free tools to actually clean up the PC, then reinstall their Norton after it was cleaned up. I know, how messed up.
The first thing you want to do is find out if your OS is corrupted, because if it is there's no point in wasting time running A/V software. This is easy to do just run command prompt as admin and type: "sfc /scannow"(without the quotes) then hit enter. This runs the System File Checker built in with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. If it comes back saying it found errors it was unable to fix then you have to back up your personal data and reinstall windows. If it says no integrity violations were found then your OS is in good shape and you can continue with the virus removal.
First thing you'll want to do is download revo uninstaller, it's free software that will scan for leftover files and registry entries that would normally get left behind by the built in uninstaller provided by Windows. After you have it downloaded and saved to your desktop or a flash drive you'll want to boot into safe mode and run revo there. Remove everything you don't need using the advanced option provided by Revo, if you don't know what a certain program is just google it a lot of times you will find a program associated with viruses. Dead give aways are programs like "Driver Updater", "Some fake A/V software 2016", "PC Optimizer", "SpeedUpYourPC", etc. You'll also want to get rid of anything with the word Toolbar in it to help speed up your web browsers. You will also want to uninstall any A/V software you currently have. You can reinstall them after the cleanup is done.
After that part is finished you can restart the PC and boot in normally. The first thing you'll want to do is turn off system restore points and delete your old restore points as they could be infected. Some of the tools you are about to use will try to create a restore point, if it's turned off they won't be able to which is what you want since the restore point they would create is going to be infected too. You may have to google how do this.
Now you are ready to download/run the actual anti virus software section. I'll provide links below.
1. Run Rkill by itself don't restart yet
2. Run JRT by itself don't restart yet
3. Run Adwcleaner by itself. It will automatically restart your PC when you finish it.
4. Run Malwarebytes (enable rootkit scanning in the options first) and Super AntiSpyware together don't restart until both are finished
5. Run RogueKiller and don't restart yet
Go to your downloads folder and delete all .exe's/applications, clear out your recycle bin.
Clean up your web browsers by removing any unwanted addons/extensions and resetting them.
Turn off unwanted start up programs and services in msconfig/task manager depending on your OS.
Uninstall malwarebytes/super antispyware to help your PC run faster. Restart and enjoy.
Links: (Only use the free editions)
Revo Uninstaller: http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_unin...nload.html
Rkill: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/
JRT: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download...oval-tool/
Adwcleaner: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware: https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/
Super AntiSpyware: http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html
RogueKiller: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/roguekiller/
Other A/V software you can run if you'd like:
Kaspersky's TDSSKiller: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/tdsskiller/
Emsisoft AntiMalware: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download...timalware/
Avira: https://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus
ESET Online Scanner: https://www.eset.com/us/home/online-scanner/
Panda: http://www.pandasecurity.com/usa/homeuse...antivirus/
Other tools, use at your own risk as they could break your OS if not used properly.
CCleaner: https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download
Combofix: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/combofix/
Tweaking Tool: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download...ll-in-one/
I know, way too much to read. I find myself explaining this to people from time to time though so now it'll be nice to have a link to send them to.
There's been a new wave of viruses going around called ransomware that will encrypt your data and hold it ransom for a fee. There use to be no way to fix this issue you just had to reinstall the OS and lost all of your data. Now there are some new programs coming out to combat this threat.
Update, Bit Defender now has an anti-ransomware tool:
https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/an...-tool.html
Malwarebytes Anti Ransomware Beta
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download...ansomware/
Emisoft has some ransomware specific decrypters that can be found here:
https://decrypter.emsisoft.com/