PC Security: Removing a Virus
No matter how secure your system is, or how careful
you are, you may still get a computer virus. Once you have a virus of any
type, it must be removed, and removing a virus isn't always very
easy.
Some viruses are basically harmless, and mostly just irritating. They may
deliver a silly message, and then quietly go away on their own. Unfortunately,
most viruses do not behave so mildly, and will destroy files and even operating
systems.
In some cases, virus removal is easy. Your anti-virus software can easily
do it for you once it detects a virus. The tricky part is to make sure that
your virus definition file is always up to date, and that the program is
constantly running. Of course, this prevents viruses, along with not opening
email attachments from people that you do not know.
However, some newer viruses can still get through, because virus definitions
have not yet been written for them. If you think you have a virus, the first
thing you want to do is to make absolutely sure that you have a virus, and
identify it.
Start by using the Internet to search for information concerning the newest
viruses. If you have not yet fully determined that you have a virus, or if
you have, but do not know which virus you have, you may have to read the
symptoms of the newest viruses to see if these are the symptoms your system
has.
Once you've found similar symptoms, you can search the files and folders
on your system to look for the file name of the virus in question to see
if it is there. Make sure that you search the memory, as well as the hard
drive.
Once you have identified the virus, and found it on your system, there may
be many steps involved to manually remove viruses. The Symantec website usually
offers detailed step-by-step instructions for manual virus removal. When
you find the instructions, make sure that you print them out!
Most virus software, such as McAfee VirusScan and Norton System Works, will
give you the ability to create anti-virus boot disks when you first install
it. Make absolutely sure that you do this! If your system becomes unusable
due to a virus, you will need these disks. If you don't have them, you can
count on doing a complete system restore. If the system is usable, and you
are running windows, you can also try to get rid of the virus by doing a
system revert to the last known good configuration, although this often does
not rid the system of the virus.
When removing files, it is important to know which files to not remove. Removing
core system files is a bad thing! If you are running windows, check the Microsoft
site for a list of the operating system files for your version of windows.
Print this list out or copy it down so that you can be sure to leave these
files in place. However, you will need to look at the dates of these files,
to make sure that they all match. Often, on an infected system, the kernel32.exe
and lsass.exe file dates won't match the other operating system file dates.
These two files are common virus targets. If this is the case, you can download
the right files (with the right dates) from the operating system's website,
or reinstall them from your operating system disk to overwrite the infected
files.
Viruses will often corrupt the registry. It is a good idea to install registry
cleaning software before you get a virus. However, you can also install software
such as registry mechanic, or search for free registry repair software to
repair a damaged registry.
If the virus is only affecting a particular program, such as a word processor
or email client, simply uninstall that software and reinstall it. This will
often wipe the virus out, and makes getting rid of it much easier.
 PC Security: Index
PC Security:
Internet Browsers
PC Security:
Spam
PC Security:
Stopping Spam Part 1
PC Security:
Stopping Spam Part 2
PC Security: Spam
Scams
PC Security:
Email Security and Spam
PC Security:
Email Security
PC Security:
Computer Viruses
PC Security:
Protecting Computers From Viruses
PC Security:
Worm Viruses
PC Security:
Trojan Horse Viruses
PC Security:
Rootkits
PC Security:
Removing a Virus
PC Security:
Virus Hoaxes
PC Security:
Server Viruses
PC Security:
Home Network
PC Security:
Cell Phone Viruses
PC Security:
Spyware
PC Security:
Firewalls Part 1
PC Security:
Firewalls Part 2
PC
Security: Parental Control Software
PC Security:
Malware - Spyware and Adware
PC Security:
Data Backups
PC Security:
Pop Up Windows
PC
Security: Safe Public Computer Use
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