The free version of Malwarebytes is very good - I've never used the paid-for version and have successfully cleared all sorts of problems for clients.
Posted by: Robin at July 21, 2009 8:50 AM
The reformat has one tricky part -- If the virus gets into the boot sector, a quick format usually won't dislodge it.
For that, you have to zero out the drive -- using DBAN or something similar.
Posted by: A.M. at July 21, 2009 9:10 AM
Malwarebytes is in fact free, and a GREAT removal program. The only things extra you get from the payed version is, real-time protection, and automatic updates. But the free version, you can just easily hit the Update button to get all the definitions, and use the On-Demand scans.
-Mike
Posted by: Michael at July 21, 2009 10:48 AM
Good article, but surprised you didnt mention rolling back your XP/Vista to a system restore point before the date you noticed the pop up, its worked for me, and a lot easier task for most people than full system restore.
I had a very bad piece of spyware/malware on my computer and went to Microsoft security update and downloaded the OneCare software online. Yep! This did the trick. It killed it. Thank you, Microsoft.
Posted by: Steve Garza at July 22, 2009 12:38 PM
The only way to truly get rid of a virus is to fully reformat the machine. I keep all my data on an external drive, and anything that I download is on my main drive first. That way, my data is never affected. Backup of course anyway though.
Posted by: Carl R. Goodwin at July 22, 2009 9:33 PM
There is another approach, one that is more reliable than using anti-malware software from inside the infected OS and less drastic than a total re-format -> scan for malware from outside the infected OS, without actually running the infected OS. I wrote a trio of articles on this which are summarized here:
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The free version of Malwarebytes is very good - I've never used the paid-for version and have successfully cleared all sorts of problems for clients.
Posted by: Robin at July 21, 2009 8:50 AMThe reformat has one tricky part -- If the virus gets into the boot sector, a quick format usually won't dislodge it.
For that, you have to zero out the drive -- using DBAN or something similar.
Posted by: A.M. at July 21, 2009 9:10 AMMalwarebytes is in fact free, and a GREAT removal program. The only things extra you get from the payed version is, real-time protection, and automatic updates. But the free version, you can just easily hit the Update button to get all the definitions, and use the On-Demand scans.
-Mike
Posted by: Michael at July 21, 2009 10:48 AMGood article, but surprised you didnt mention rolling back your XP/Vista to a system restore point before the date you noticed the pop up, its worked for me, and a lot easier task for most people than full system restore.
22-Jul-2009
Posted by: GloucesterBob at July 21, 2009 1:46 PM
I had a very bad piece of spyware/malware on my computer and went to Microsoft security update and downloaded the OneCare software online. Yep! This did the trick. It killed it. Thank you, Microsoft.
Posted by: Steve Garza at July 22, 2009 12:38 PMThe only way to truly get rid of a virus is to fully reformat the machine. I keep all my data on an external drive, and anything that I download is on my main drive first. That way, my data is never affected. Backup of course anyway though.
Posted by: Carl R. Goodwin at July 22, 2009 9:33 PMThere is another approach, one that is more reliable than using anti-malware software from inside the infected OS and less drastic than a total re-format -> scan for malware from outside the infected OS, without actually running the infected OS. I wrote a trio of articles on this which are summarized here:
Removing malware is best done from the outside
Posted by: Michael Horowitz at July 28, 2009 7:42 PMhttp://blogs.computerworld.com/removing_malware_is_best_done_from_the_outside
For the most terrible malware I have found that ComboFix does a great job.
Posted by: Tim Buckman at October 13, 2009 3:07 PMHOW DO I REMOVE UPDATER.EXE? I TRIED USING TASK MANAGER, DIDN'T WORK. I TRIED USING MALWAREBYTES, NO GOOD.
Posted by: GARY WATSON at October 21, 2009 4:01 PMBest way is to remove hard drive, put in different computer and run anti-virus on it.
Posted by: Judy at October 25, 2009 8:38 AMTo post a comment on "How do I remove a virus?", please return to that article's main page.