Oh no! The one thing that you would never want to associate with your computer has just happened! And now, you are staring at some antivirus screen in which you have absolutely no idea how it got on your computer… Well you have probably since guessed it, but you now have virus!

The cost of virus removal can be somewhat expensive, and especially in these economic times, you might be thinking of exhausting all other resources before paying some computer repair shop 200 dollars to do the job you were looking to perform for free! Now, before we begin, I do suggest getting the problem taken care of by a professional…

Alright, let’s begin!

If you still have access to the Internet, I would suggest downloading Malware Bytes (download by clicking here) to remove what it can. Everything I recommend will be done through safe mode with networking (if you need help accessing safe mode, or would just like to know what it is, click here).

Once in safe mode, run a full scan. This is going to take a little bit to scan every file on your computer, so I recommend you go grab something to eat. Hopefully that scan removed the majority of infections on the computer. If not, we are going to have to dig a little deeper…

Next, while still in safe mode, navigate to your Windows folder (usually it will look something like this, C:\Windows\)… From here, we will sort by the “Date Modified,” in which we can determine if any files have been altered in recent times. Look closely now… If there are any files that look out of the ordinary, you might want to delete that file (the file name “ldvjta42dsahl,” is an example of a file that a virus would create). If you have any questions if a file is legitimate or not, you can either move your cursor over the file to view the Company Name and File Description, or you can Google it. By moving your cursor over the suspicious file, you can view what company created the file and the description of the file (Whether it be Micorosft or even an Unknow Company).

If everything looks fine in the Windows directory, we will then navigate to the System32 folder (usually it will look something like this, C:\Windows\System32). Now, we are going to repeat the above steps. Sort by Date Modified, check for any strange file names, and delete.

Note: If you have any questions on whether a file is legitimate or not, please don’t hesitate to Google it! Google is a lifesaver, especially in situations like this!

The next step is to clear anything that may be running when Windows starts up. To do this, click start, and click run (use the search bar if on Windows Vista). Type in msconfig and hit enter. The two tabs we will be viewing are the startup and services tab. It is here where we will look for anymore entries that look misleading or strange. Once again, if you have any doubts, just Google it! This is why we use the safe mode with networking support!

After you are finished unchecking/checking what doesn’t need to be there/needs to be there, hit apply. After that, restart your computer into normal mode.

When the computer boots into normal mode, run your antivirus/antispyware scan one more time to be certain…  And congrats, you have successfully cleaned your computer from viruses!

Tip: I do recommend going out and purchasing an antivirus to protect you from any threats in the future!