Virus’s, trojans, spyware and adware…we have all seen them and know what they can do to our computers. Each day ‘hackers’ are releasing more and more of these harmful things to the world wide web. It’s not totally uncommon to get infected by simple viewing an image on a webpage.
In this article I will attempt to explain how to safeguard yourself from these attacks and even how to remove these if you happen to get infected. Before we begin you will need to get a hold of a few tools.
1. HijackThis
HijackThis is a program which detects all processes that are running on your computer and allows you to remove them. You may think to yourself, “I can press ctrl+alt+del, find the process and click end…I don’t need a program to do that” but you would be partially wrong. Windows default application and process tracker (Windows Task Manager) is built in to all version of windows. Computer hackers know this and plan for their program to have many work around to prevent a person from just using Windows Task Manager to stop their virus from working.
In most cases, the virus is coded so well that it will not even show up on the Windows Task Manager. HijackThis is more or less an improved Windows Task Manager that lists every single process that is running on your computer. So far, no viruses or bugs have been able to stop from being detected by HijackThis. While the programs name may sound harmful, its meant as more of a rhetorical challenge for hackers. I have been using this program since I found it back in 2004 and it has helped me clean not only my own but several of my friends and families computers as well.
However, there is an extreme learning curve with this program. The program itself is easy enough to use. The hard part is deciding which process’s you want to remove. You can potentially destroy your computers ability to run properly (or certain programs) if you delete a process that is required to run it.
You will also need a few virus scanning programs. Don’t be shy here, it is more than ok to have more than one virus scanning software. I personally enjoy removing virus’s from my computer, the challenge is welcomed. So I stick mainly to free virus scanners. With the nature of how virus scanners work, I just don’t see why a program such as Norton Anti-virus could be any better than any other free virus scanner program (aside from it offering different types of protections in a bundled package). Here are a few free virus scannes for you to use, just pick one or use them all as it really doesn’t matter.
1. Ad-aware
2. AVG Free edition
3. Spybot Search and Destroy (includes pop up blocker)
You should perform scans on your computer at least once a week. Increase to multiple times a week if you are having serious problems with virus’s. The virus databases for these programs are updated regularly and about once a week.
But sometimes, new virus’s are made that are not in your anti virus’s database. Even moreso, some virus’s are specifically coded to avoid detection from these programs. This is why you need the first program I mentioned above, HijackThis. If the virus scan doesn’t remove the virus, you will have to remove it manually yourself with HijackThis. Please keep in mind that even HijackThis can be fooled by extremely clever virus’s and it will not work 100% of the time. If that is the case, you may need some tools created specifically for removing certain types of virus’s.
Before using HijackThis you should take a look at a really awesome website. It helps you decide which process are a potential threat and will greatly help you out on choosing which process’s you need to remove. Castlecops is a website that lists a database of all known process that have been discovered by the people who use and run the website. It lists what the process is called, what it could be used for and wheter or not it is harmful to your computer. It works in conjunction with HijackThis and you check this site for the process you think should be delete before actually deleting it.
If this really appeals to you, yet you are not comfortable using these tools yourself you can always turn to the internet for help. One site in particular specializes in dealing with using virus scanners and the HijackThis program to help you remove virus’s. You simply run a scan with HijackThis and your virus protection software and post the log from both to a website. You can do a few searches and find a handful of websites that will accept HijackThis logs but there is one that I use where the people strive to help you out. Spywareinfo is a wonderful site and the community is extremely friendly and very large. It may take some time for you to get a response but when you do, you will almost always find a solution to your problem. I use the site religiously and the people there have never failed at helping me remove virus’s.
