Removing Spyware, Adware, Malware or Other Parasites

Make sure you read this entire article BEFORE you do anything. Removing Spyware and other parasites is not as easy as you might think it would be and there is a whole lot more to it than many people realize.

Spyware, Adware, Malware and other parasites should not be taken lightly and you should always get professional help to remove any stubborn parasites that you may have on your system.



Tools Which You Will Need

Ad-Aware SE
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

SpyBot - Search & Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/

McAffee Stinger
http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

HiJackThis
http://www.richardthelionhearted.com/~merijn/downloads.html


Instructions on What You Should Do

Scan your system using Ad-Aware and SpyBot-S&D.

It makes no difference which order you run these two tools as they will each detect and remove what the other misses.

Always make sure the reference files are up to date.

SpyBot-S&D: Let it fix anything that is listed in red.
Ad-Aware: Let it fix anything that it finds.

After you complete these scans, you will want to run a good Anti-Virus scan on your system. Panda Anti-Virus has a good online scanner which should detect and remove anything on your system.

If you are unable to go online or run any Anti-Virus you may currently have installed on your system, then don't worry about it as this can be taken care of later.

Another alternative if you have access to it would be to boot from a Knoppix CD and do an Anti-Virus scan From Knoppix. Knoppix is a Linux distribution which can be booted from a CD without the need to install it.

Once you complete the above steps, you will want to run HiJackThis, then post the contents of the resulting HJT log to one of the Forums listed below.

Once you post your HJT log, you need to be patient and check back periodically because the personnel who are there to help you can get quite busy working on HJT logs posted by other users.

It is also very important that any forum you decide to visit for help, that you read their FAQ before doing any posting if you want their help.

If you are a skilled computer user who is technically oriented and feel confident about your skills, then you could try using one of the HiJackThis tutorials which are listed below. I would suggest reading both of them as this tool can very easily mess up your system if you are not careful.



Important Information

When running HiJackThis, it is very important that you follow any directions you may be given by Qualified personnel. You should not try fixing anything yourself unless you know what you are doing. This program can very easily make a mess of your system if you screw up.

MOST IMPORTANT

Always run HiJackThis from its own directory such as C:\HJT

The reason for this is so HJT can create backups of anything removed in case you should need to re store something.

HiJackThis and SpyWare Removers

Anytime you run HiJackThis or any other tool for removing parasites, you should always close ALL Windows, especially any browsers and Windows Explorer.

The reason for this is if you leave any of these windows open, you may find the parasite to still be installed on your system.

If you are Unable to Run SpyBot-S&D, Ad-Aware, CWShredder or HiJackThis

There is a variant of the Coolwebsearch trojan spreading that closes several anti-spyware apps when you try to open them.

If this is happening to you, download PepiMK's CoolWWWSearch.SmartKiller removal tool (v1 and v2)
first and run it. After it does its job, CWShredder and HijackThis will run properly (as well Spybot S&D, Ad-aware and several anti-spyware forums)

Fake Programs

One of the biggest things to watch out for is bogus programs which claim to be Ad-Aware or SpyBot when they're not. Or other programs which claim to remove parasites from your system. You can check this link to check to see if a program is legitimate or not. Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites

Sytem Restore

Any time your system is infected by a bad parasite such as a Virus, Trojan or Worm, you should disable "System Restore" before attempting to clean your system. Otherwise, the infection will remain to reinfect your system.

Internet Explorer Users

Go into "Internet Options > Advanced" tab

There will be 2 "Install on Demand" items and 1 "Enable third party extension"

Uncheck all three items as these present a security risk which makes it easier for parasites to install themselves on you system
_________________