tag:ask-leo.com,2011://3/tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811- 2011-11-22T22:48:19Z Comments for How do I remove a virus? Movable Type 4.32-en tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:53295 Comment from Johan on 2010-12-30 Johan http://unspecified Leo,

You say:

“The only way to be absolutely positive that you've removed any and all viruses is:
* Backup [...]
* Reformat [...]
* Reinstall everything, from scratch [...]
* Update everything [...]“

Fine ... ... were it not for the following:

“
* Restore your data by carefully copying it back from the backups you created. By "carefully" I mean taking care to only copy what you need, so as not to copy back the virus.“

This is the catch.

For how could one possibly “only copy what you need, so as not to copy back the virus” ???!!!

Malware could lurk inside a data file that appears legitimate. How do I know that it is not hiding inside any one among hundreds of those nice photo images that I had downloaded over the web long time ago? ... ...

Johan


A good point. Malware tends to infecte executable files much more frequently than data files. (Infected photos are rare - possible, but rare.) Ultimately, though, the best way to deal with malware is to not get infected in the first place.
Leo
31-Dec-2010

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 2010-12-30T19:37:54Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:49854 Comment from Carlos Coquet on 2010-08-28 Carlos Coquet http://unspecified When viri disable the Task Manager and don't allow using RegEdit, I have often had success using a third party registry editor. However, occasionally, a virus may monitor the Registry value and set it right back to disable the T M right after you change it.

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 2010-08-28T11:47:16Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:46154 Comment from robin on 2010-05-01 robin i am a XP user .but recently i am effacted a virus.i have allready avira its allready updated.but it cant do nothing.the did in my pc like that:- i am working but suddenly everything is close and i dont get time to save.and whan i on task manager i got JIBANU.exe.what can i do

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 2010-05-02T03:18:13Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:45914 Comment from johnpro2 on 2010-04-25 johnpro2 http://unspecified The guy in the computer shop said BIOS virus infections are very rare because not many folk use floppy disks anymore.This is where most of them used to be introduced many years ago ..as I recall.

Jp

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 2010-04-26T00:13:07Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:44758 Comment from I am not Leo too on 2010-03-24 I am not Leo too Forgot situations that you get your bios flashed.:) There is viruses that infect bios too.:) You can't reformat the drive for those.

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 2010-03-24T11:36:46Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:44450 Comment from Judi on 2010-03-16 Judi http://unspecified A few months ago I got an Antivirus Program pop-up and it took over my computer completely. Every single program I clicked on said it had a trojan. It recommended that I purchase their antivirus program to remove the virus (they installed!). They even sent an official-looking Microsoft screen that recommended I buy their program. After 5 hours of trial, error and tears, the easy solution was to reboot in Safe Mode and then choose "no" at one point so I could to go to System Restore while in Safe Mode. I then selected the first date and time (yesterday) when I didn't have this infection to restore my computer to. I let the computer do it's restoration and it automatically rebooted, and my computer was clean and working perfectly again. SAFE - EASY - EFFECTIVE SOLUTION! It's been fine for months now. I hope this helps others.

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 2010-03-16T18:27:03Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:44417 Comment from Andrew on 2010-03-16 Andrew http://unspecified Good article Leo, very informative. From this article can you please tell me in more detail the steps I need to take from "The only way to be absolutely positive that you've removed any and all viruses is: backing up the computer down to restoring the data." I need a step by step explanation about how to do that. cheers.

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 2010-03-16T09:09:47Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:44208 Comment from Brian on 2010-03-10 Brian http://unspecified I have a virus that won't allow me to do anything on the computer anymore, once it is up and running. How do I get to the point of reformatting and reinstalling. Don't I need a boot disk or something?

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 2010-03-10T16:11:08Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:43627 Comment from johnpro2 on 2010-02-23 johnpro2 http://unspecified Reformatting and reinstalling often works out quicker in the long run and gives a very satisfying feeling of victory..
The only weakness is any reinstalling data ..only do this for critical stuff otherwise you have a higher risk of reinfection.
Jp

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 2010-02-23T21:35:29Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:42289 Comment from Chris on 2010-01-18 Chris First, I would run my anti-virus program, then choose the "check for updates" to make sure that it is, then choose "complete system scan" or "full system scan" to see if it finds anything. Then try a adware scanner. Ad-Aware has a pretty good one you can use manually for free. You do have to buy it if you want continuous automatic protection.

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 2010-01-18T15:23:01Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:42023 Comment from lol on 2010-01-11 lol The only way to remove a virus fully is to format your hardrive
I do believe the article you commented on said something almost exactly like that.
Leo
13-Jan-2010

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 2010-01-11T15:12:24Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:40046 Comment from bk on 2009-11-17 bk MY external hard drive; can it be infected too? will moving material back and forth re-infect the re-programmed computer?
div class="leocomment">It is possible, yes. Some malware can, and does, spread through external and portable drives.
Leo
18-Nov-2009

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 2009-11-18T02:32:57Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:39484 Comment from vikas on 2009-10-31 vikas I have updated my antivirus and then run that in safe mode,it worked and killed it.Kasper sky works on malware too.

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 2009-10-31T10:48:19Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:39258 Comment from Judy on 2009-10-25 Judy Best way is to remove hard drive, put in different computer and run anti-virus on it.

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 2009-10-25T15:38:54Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:39161 Comment from GARY WATSON on 2009-10-21 GARY WATSON HOW DO I REMOVE UPDATER.EXE? I TRIED USING TASK MANAGER, DIDN'T WORK. I TRIED USING MALWAREBYTES, NO GOOD.

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 2009-10-21T23:01:03Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:38905 Comment from Tim Buckman on 2009-10-13 Tim Buckman For the most terrible malware I have found that ComboFix does a great job.

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 2009-10-13T22:07:37Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:36461 Comment from Michael Horowitz on 2009-07-28 Michael Horowitz http://unspecified 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:

Removing malware is best done from the outside
http://blogs.computerworld.com/removing_malware_is_best_done_from_the_outside

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 2009-07-29T02:42:05Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:36292 Comment from Carl R. Goodwin on 2009-07-22 Carl R. Goodwin 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.

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 2009-07-23T04:33:09Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:36279 Comment from Steve Garza on 2009-07-22 Steve Garza 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.

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 2009-07-22T19:38:37Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:36236 Comment from GloucesterBob on 2009-07-21 GloucesterBob http://unspecified 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.
System restore is overrated, IMO, and not (repeat not) a reliable malware removal tool. Two prior articles: Can I get rid of spyware using system restore?, and Why can't I rely on System Restore for backups?.
- Leo
22-Jul-2009

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 2009-07-21T20:46:31Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:36229 Comment from Michael on 2009-07-21 Michael http://unspecified 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

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 2009-07-21T17:48:28Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:36225 Comment from A.M. on 2009-07-21 A.M. 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.

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 2009-07-21T16:10:08Z tag:ask-leo.com,2009://3.3811-comment:36223 Comment from Robin on 2009-07-21 Robin http://unspecified 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.

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 2009-07-21T15:50:01Z