How To Get Rid Of Malware ?

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Malwarefighter

Find out How To Get Rid Of Malware:

When your computer gets infected with malware, it can be a daunting task to solve the problem at hand and to know how to get rid of it. If you are not used to dealing with it, it can be a difficult experience understanding how to get rid of malware.

But in reality most malware can be dealt with effectively using the right malware removal tools. Depending on what kind of malware your computer is infected with, it is going to require a different approach to the situation.

First we have to see what kind of symptoms your computer might show. They could be minor symptoms or they can be pretty substantial  ones depending on the type of malware and how many different ones have infected your computer. Lets have a look at the potential symptoms your computer might have at the moment:

- Unable to start programs.
- Very long boot times and/or very long wake-up from standby time.
- Web browser closing down by itself or locking up/stopping with responding.
- New icons or toolbars being added in your webbrowser without your knowledge.
- New icons and programs in your start menu and/or desktop that have been installed with that you have no idea of where they came from.
- Web pages being added to your favorites without consent.
- While your webbrowser being idle you suddenly notice new windows opening up displaying advertisements.
- Links in programs (including webbrowsers) not able to being clicked.
- The homepage of your webbrowser suddenly displaying a new unknown website.
- Just general strange things that started happening all of a sudden.

 

Now does your computer display one or more of the above symptoms? Well then its time to get started!

Steps on how to get rid of malware:

The first thing you can check is your Windows Task Manager (accessed by hitting ctrl+alt+delete at the same time) and look for the tab called Processes. By default, windows has a number of services running in the background. If there is some piece of malware running, chances are very likely that you can see them being active in the Processes tab.

You can double check what processes are harmless and which are harmful by looking at this website.

If you have identified a piece of malware then its time to start up your malware removal tool of choice. Now currently there are a whole lot of virusscanners and malware removal tools both free and paid versions. Below i will include some of the best malware removal software you can find , free or paid software, depending on what budget you have:

Free virus/spyware scanners:
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Ad-Aware Free Internet Security
- AVG Anti-Virus Free 2012
- Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.5 Free Edition
- Avast Free Anti Virus

Paid virus/spyware scanners:
- Norton 360 5.0
- Kapersky Internet Security 2012
- Webroot Antivirus

Now you might ask what the difference is between the free and the paid versions. While there arent any huge differences, there are still some improvements in the paid versions like having more features available for example. Usually the scanning speed of a paid version is better than their free counterpart too. They are also better equipped to deal with the lastest malware threats.

Paid versions can have more robust detection (free versions sometimes have an issue where they report fake threats. Making you worried for nothing.) in general aswell. Detecting certain malware that free version might overlook.

If you are a casual internet user chances are that you can just stick with a free scanner. On the other hand, if you run a business or handle alot of important data on your computer you can look into getting a paid version to have that extra bit of security you require.

After you have installed your malware scanner of choice, you simply do a full system scan  and wait for it to complete. When it has finished the program will notify you of any spyware or adware it might have detected. Follow the instructions of the program and bam, problems fixed ! I hope that after reading this malware removal guide you understand How To Get Rid Of Malware and how protecting your computer isnt so hard.

Share this article

Posted in How To Get Rid Of Malware | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Facebook Virus\Malware Removal : Manual Removal of Koobface Virus

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Malwarefighter

The Koobface.b virus, which targets Facebook users, creates spam messages and sends them to the infected users’ friends via the messaging system on Facebook.

The spam messages and comments include text links such as Paris Hilton Tosses Dwarf On The Street; Examiners Caught Downloading Grades From The Internet; Hello; You must see it!!! LOL. My friend catched you on hidden cam; Is it really celebrity? Funny Moments and many, many others.


Share this article

Posted in How To Get Rid Of Malware | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How To Remove Malware For Free

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Malwarefighter

Step-by-step guide for removing just about any malware absolutley free.

Share this article

Posted in How To Get Rid Of Malware | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

Windows Malware Removal Tool

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Malwarefighter

The Windows Malware Removal Tool

One of the many free anti-malware programs available today is the Windows Malware Removal Tool (Also known as MSRT). It is a freely distributed malware removal program created by Microsoft for its Windows Operating Systems  that can be downloaded freely. It normally is automatically downloaded if you have automatic windows updates checked but if you dont you can download it for free from here .

Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows XP.

The Windows Malware Removal Tool does its job quite nicely as it an integral part of the windows operating systems nowadays. In the past it didnt have a great reputation but through continued effort Microsoft has improved the Windows Malware Removal Tool.

It can hold its own in the removal of different types of infections (including spyware, trojans, worms, etc) you might encounter. Do take note that this tool is designed as a malware removal tool and not a malware prevention tool.

After you have used the Windows Malware Removal Tool and you did a full scan, you need to make sure your computer doesnt get infected again in the first place.

So you used the windows malware removal tool, now what?

Here are some quick tips to minimize the opportunity to get re-infected again, which may sound logical at first glance but alot of people dont do or forget about:

-Look into using a firewall, either a software or a hardware one.

-Be careful when downloading files from websites, always do a scan after you downloaded said files.

-Do not open emails blindly from people you dont know or arent expecting from. Always be skeptical before opening an attachment.

-Likewise watch out for shady websites which can infect you via scripts (a good addon to look out for if you use firefox is No-script. You can find it on the official mozilla website.)

-Do regular scans on a scheduled interval so you can leave it running in the background while you are busy with other things.

-When you download a file make sure its coming from the official website and not a third party website so you have the insurance that the file isnt infected.

-Keep your windows operating system updated with the latest security patches.

-Always have a backup of a clean windows install handy and backup your personal files on a daily basis.

So go download that windows malware removal tool, use it and get rid of that malware!

Share this article

Posted in How To Get Rid Of Malware, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Windows Malware Removal

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Malwarefighter

How to guide: Windows Malware Removal

windows malware removal 300x270 Windows Malware Removal

The following windows malware removal guide will help you disinfect your computer if it has been inflicted with malware.  Your windows operating system can be attacked by different sorts of spyware, trojan horses, worms,viruses and more that have a whole variety of different effects.

If you have a windows malware infection that is blocking your internet connection, disabling your desktop, or preventing any programs from running, you will need to boot into safe mode. Certain malware infections will not be able to run in safe mode,so they can be detected easier and removed in an easy fashion. If you are not experiencing any of the above problems, you can skip this step and move on to the next step.

To enter safe mode, reboot your computer and start hitting the F8 key before Windows starts to load. You will see a black screen with a number of options. Use the arrow keys to select the Safe Mode with Networking option, and then hit the Enter key. Once you are in Safe Mode with Networking, move on to the next step.

You need to scan your computer for possible rootkits first before running any other anti malware software.

TDSSKiller belongs in the category of malware removal freeware and more specifically is an anti-rootkit tool from Kaspersky. It is specifically developed to delete malware belonging to the rootkit family Rootkit.Win32.TDSS. This rootkit family downloads and execute other malware, redirects google searches, and blocks programs from running. TDSSKiller is easy to use and no installation is required.
(you can download the TDSSKiller tool from here for free.)

Many malware removal tools will scan for and remove various malware infections. Unfortunately, none of them will detect and remove 100% of all malware; therefore, it is important to use more than one, in the hope that their combined detection is enough to find the problem.

 

Notes:

-Update the scanners to the latest version before you scan with them.

-After you are done downloading and updating the scanner, disconnect your internet connection. This will make sure no more extra malware can install itself on your computer.

-Do not use your computer for anything else until the scanning process has been  completed. Depending on the scanner it can take up to 60 mins or more, so have patience!

-Do NOT run more than one scan at a time. It is pointless and might create new problems. You may have to restart your computer to complete the removal process done by the scanner.

If you currently have anti-virus software installed on your computer, make sure it is up to date with the latest virus definitions, and perform a complete system scan. Remove or quarantine anything that it finds.

Note: Before removing anything, make sure it’s not a false positive. A “false positive” is when antivirus software identifies a non-harmful file as a virus. In other words, false positives are mistakes made by an anti-virus software. If you think a file is a false positive, go to VirusTotal  and upload the file. They will scan the file with a few different anti-virus engines.

Windows Malware Removal:

If you do not have any anti-virus software installed, go download one. In our previous guide of How To Get Rid Of Malware we have mentioned a couple of free or paid malware scanners. Pick one out, download and install it. You might have to let it update to the latest virus definitions.

When its done installing and updating its time to run a full system scan. After its done scanning, remove the threats it has found (and double check for false positives first). Now your computer is almost infection free! We still have to take a few additional after care steps to make sure all traces have been deleted.

Your “restore points” could contain malware. The only way to remove the malware is to delete the restore points. You can use Disk Cleanup to remove all but the most recent restore point. Follow these instructions to run Disk Cleanup:

Go to the Start menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools and then click Disk Cleanup. Click on the More Options tab and locate the section near the bottom labeled System Restore. Click on the Cleanup button. In Windows 7, you need to click on the Clean up system files button before the More Options tab will appear.

The next thing to take note of is to change all of your passwords, especially important ones involving financial transactions. This is a very important step and should infact be a standard procedure, change your passwords on a regular basis !

And finally after the removal process, you need to remove your temporary files with a tool like CCleaner. Removing your temporary files will delete the remaining malware data from your temporary folders. As an extra bonus it will also free up hard disk space, which will help to speed up your computer back to normal.

Windows Malware Removal: Conclusion

After using these malware removal tools your computer will be infection free! Prevent malware infecting your computer ever again! You see, Windows Malware Removal isnt so hard !

Share this article

Posted in How To Get Rid Of Malware | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What Is Malware?

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Malwarefighter

First things first:What is Malware ?

Computers are fine delicate machines running countless amounts of services and programs. Do you remember the first day you had your brand new computer? That day you enjoyed the smooth performance of your brand new device but eventually there comes a point where the performance will degrade.

Now this can have multiple causes either through hardware getting faulty, your harddisk getting full with data, software conflicts, viruses, trojans,spyware etc. Have you been experiencing your computer slowing down? Weird things going on like icons dissapearing, having popups on your desktop? Or how how about your webbrowser freezing up? These and many other symptoms may point to your computer being infected with malware.

Through day to day use, your computer can get infected by certain applications, malicious code from emails or from websites you visit on the internet. Your computer might be infected at this instant and you might not even realize! But before we start removing malware, we must first get an understanding to the question “what is malware?” and what big problems they cause.

Defining what Malware is

Malware is the general term of malicious code/software that includes the following:

malware 2011 What Is Malware?

Piechart showing the distribution of the different types of malware out there.

 

Viruses: a computer program that can replicate itself and spread itself from computer to computer.

Trojans: a malicious piece of software that at first glance appears to work normal but in actuality is stealing information or harming the system in one or more ways.

Worms: are self-replicating malicious programs which use a computer network to send copies of itself to other computers on this network. The way it differs itself from a computer Virus is that a Worm does not need to attach itself to another program to do its malicious task.

Dialer:  a malicious program that installs itself onto a computer and attempts to dial telephone lines at other locations, often inducing expensive phone bills for the victim.

Rootkits: a malicious piece of software that is activated each time your system boots up. It essentially creates a backdoor in your computer for hackers.

Spyware: a malicious piece of software that can be installed on computers which can collect small pieces of data of the user without its consent.

All of these things have the intent to disrupt, slowdown, steal personal info, log keystrokes, hijack and do more nasty things to your personal computer and your personal data. Each passing day, more and more of this malware gets created and spread around. Thus it becomes increasingly more important to increase internet protection and stop it from infecting your computer.
Just like your body needs a strong immune system to handle the stress of nasty bacteria and viruses and all sorts of ilnesses, so does your computer need a strong defense against malware.

Are you worried yet? There is no need to worry! You can rest soundly at night because all of these problems can be fixed!

On this website you will learn and understand how to identify and How To Get Rid Of Malware and also prevent any potential infections that could arise in the future. Learn how to protect your computer by using the the malware removal tools required so you dont have to worry again about these problems. I hope with this post i provided the answer to the question “what is malware?”

 

Share this article

Posted in How To Get Rid Of Malware | Tagged | Leave a comment