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I suspect spyware or a worm, how do I get rid of it?

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Summary: In most cases getting rid of malware involves running up to date scanners for viruses and spyware, and then making sure you're behind a firewall.

I run Win XP PRO. As I am connecting to the internet I see in the tool bar the two screens for the internet connection always active and the received bytes increasing continuously. I think this is a worm or spy program but I don't know how can remove it without formatting my hard drive. Do you have any tips?"

•

Well certainly formatting shouldn't be needed. Just follow the steps from the previous article: How do I keep my computer safe on the internet?. In a nutshell:

  • Run a virus scanner.

  • Run a spyware scanner.

  • Use a firewall.

•

Article C1953 - May 27, 2004

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Recent Comments
33 Comments

thank you for your honesty.

Posted by: robert at November 6, 2008 11:30 AM

I have had my laptop for a year. A few months ago, I started getting pop up ads even before I went on the Internet. My mom suspected a virus, but I failed to do anything about it. Now I can't connect to the Internet, as soon as my desktop fully loads, my hard drive starts crashing.

I don't have any antivirus software like I should and I can't connect to the Internet to download any. Is my computer totally trashed or can I fix it?

The safest thing to do is to back it up entirely so you don't lose any data, and then reformat and reinstall Windows and everything else from scratch, and this time install anti-virus and anti-spyware scanenrs.

An alternative is to use a different computer to download the anti-malware software you need, and put it on a CD or flash drive and then copy it to your machine that way. But it sounds like you're in bad enough shape that a reinstall will actually be quicker.

- Leo
06-Dec-2008
Posted by: Ellie at December 5, 2008 1:00 PM

Leo, i got a worm threw my computer..
it was sent to me threw msn and i cant get rid of it ! even if i search and destroy it, it keeps on infecting my MSN windows live messenger.
plz helP! how can i get rid of this?

,Marjorie.

Posted by: Marjorie at March 4, 2009 9:41 PM

I have a worm. Got it from tagged. How do I get rid of it.Have a virus scanner. Do I use this to get rid of the worm?
Elly

Posted by: Ella at June 5, 2009 8:04 PM

Hi. I think i have two worms on my computer, I had Avg to scan my computer but it didn't work so i tried t re install it but i couldn't. Now the Icons on my descope are gone. and i cant open any of my files. Not games no internet or anything Please help !

Posted by: Nina at February 27, 2010 7:41 AM
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