Free Virus Removal Tools, Tips, and Tricks
Getting a virus on your system is frustrating to say the least, and can be hazardous to the health of your computer. Indeed, today's malicious software can even steal your identity and wreck your hard-earned credit rating. To help fight back, here's a list of free tools, tips, and tricks to get rid of viruses and keep them from getting back on your system.
Free Virus Removal Tools
Sure the antivirus vendors want to make money, but if you ever get the chance to meet one of their virus researchers, you'll find their real motivation is to protect users. As corny as that may sound, it's true. That's why when stubborn or fast-spreading infectors are discovered, antivirus vendors release special tools to remove the malware - and give the tools away free. It's no substitute for installed antivirus software, but if you're already infected and in a pinch, it's the next best thing to, well, installed antivirus software.
* Create a free rescue CD - a rescue CD lets you access the system from a clean boot. A few vendors provide these free of charge and it takes only a few minutes to create one, so there's no excuse not to have one on hand.
* McAfee AVERT Stinger - McAfee AVERT Labs offers a handy utility to run in Windows that cleans some of the more common malware.
* Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool - Microsoft offers a free tool to remove prevalent software active on the system. The tool is offered via Automatic Updates, Windows Updates, and Microsoft Updates, or it can be manually downloaded using the provided link.
* Symantec Virus Removal Tools - Antivirus vendor Symantec offers a wide range of free cleaning tools for individual malware removal.
How To Disable Autorun
Removable USB/thumb drives use the Autorun feature to load files when the drives are plugged into the USB port. Malware exploits the Autorun feature to spread from thumb drive to PC. Disable the autorun feature to prevent malware from spreading.
# The easiest and most effective means to truly disable autorun can be done via this simple autorun registry hack:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\Autorun.inf]
@="@SYS:DoesNotExist"
#
To use this method, Open Notepad and copy/paste the following into a text file:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\Autorun.inf]
@="@SYS:DoesNotExist"
Save the file as something.reg. (You have to be sure to change the "Save File as Type" to "All Files" before saving, or Windows will try to save it as a .txt even if you typed in .reg.
#
Locate the file you just saved and double-click the file to run it. You will receive a prompt asking if you want to add the data to the registry. Click yes to allow the modification.
#
The above method nulls any request for autorun.inf and works on XP Home or Pro, as well as Windows Vista. Credit for this tip goes to Nick Brown.
If you opt to disable autorun using any other method, you will first need to install an autorun patch from Microsoft that allegedly resolves issues that cause autorun to run even after it's been disabled (using methods other than the above recommended method).
# XP Pro users who have installed the appropriate Microsoft patch for your system and wish to disable autorun using a method other than described above, follow steps 3 through 8 only. XP Home users begin at step 9. Vista users, see How to Disable Autorun in Windows Vista.
# Windows XP Pro users: Click Start and then click Run. Type gpedit.msc and click OK. The Group Policy window will open. In the left pane, double-click Administrative Templates
# In the right pane, double-click System, scroll down the list and double-click Turn Off Autoplay
# In the Turn Off Autoplay Properties window, select Enabled. From the dropdown next to Turn Off Autoplay on, select All drives and then click OK. Exit Group Policy by selecting File, then choosing Exit from the menu.
# XP Home users will need to make the changes by editing the registry directly. To begin, click Start and then click Run
Boot sector virus repair
What is a boot sector? All disks and hard drives are divided into small sectors. The first sector is called the boot sector and contains the Master Boot Record (MBR). The MBR contains the information concerning the location of partitions on the drive and reading of the bootable operating system partition. During the bootup sequence on a DOS-based PC, the BIOS searches for certain system files, IO.SYS and MS-DOS.SYS. When those files have been located, the BIOS then searches for the first sector on that disk or drive and loads the needed Master Boot Record information into memory. The BIOS passes control to a program in the MBR which in turn loads IO.SYS. This latter file is responsible for loading the remainder of the operating system.
What is a boot sector virus? A boot sector virus is one that infects the first sector, i.e. the boot sector, of a floppy disk or hard drive. Boot sector viruses can also infect the MBR. The first PC virus in the wild was Brain, a boot sector virus that exhibited stealth techniques to avoid detection. Brain also changed the volume label of the disk drive.
How to avoid boot sector viruses. Commonly, infected floppies and subsequent boot sector infections result from "shared" diskettes and pirated software applications. It is relatively easy to avoid boot sector viruses. Most are spread when users inadvertently leave floppy disks in the drive - which happen to be infected with a boot sector virus. The next time they boot up their PC, the virus infects the local drive. Most systems allow users to change the boot sequence so that the system always attempts to boot first from the local hard drive (C:\) or CD-ROM drive.
Top 5 Online Scanners
01. Trend Micro Housecall
02.Kaspersky Online Scanner
03. Kaspersky File Scanner
04.Jotti Online Malware Scan
05.Virustotal
How to Remove Adware and Spyware
1. Disconnect from the Internet
Close all open browser windows and applications (including email) and then disconnect your PC from the Internet. If you can access the back of the computer, the easiest thing to do is just remove the phone line or cable connecting the PC to the modem or router. If the back of the computer isn't easily accessible, you can remove the ethernet cable or phone line from router or modem.
02. Scan Your Computer
After you've disconnected from the Internet, removed any adware or spyware listed in Add/Remove Programs, and rebooted the computer, the next step is to run a full system scan using an up-to-date antivirus scanner. If your scanner will allow it, can the system in Safe Mode. If you don't have antivirus installed, select from one of these top-rated antivirus scanners or from one of these free antivirus scanners. If prompted, allow the scanner to clean, quarantine, or delete as appropriate.
03. Get Clear Access to the Problem
While scanning the system in Safe Mode is good practice, it may not be enough to thwart some malware. If the adware or spyware persists despite the above efforts, you'll need to get access to the drive without allowing the adware or spyware to load. The most effective means to get clean access to the drive is to use a BartPE Bootable CD. Once you've booted to the BartPE CD, you can access the file manager, locate the installed antivirus and rescan the system. Or, locate the offending files and folders and manually delete them.
04.Preventing Adware and Spyware
To avoid future adware and spyware infections, be discriminating about what programs you install on your PC. If you see an offer for a program that seems to good to be true, research it first using your favorite search engine. Make sure your Web browser security is up to snuff, keep your system fully patched, and follow these adware and spyware prevention tips.
Trojan.Win32.Delf.aam
How to Remove Trojan.Win32.Delf.aam and Recover Your Folders
Trojan.Win32.Delf.aam is a Trojan downloader that also steals credentials associated with Yahoo online services. Trojan.Win32.Delf.aam generally drops a copy of itself to the %temp% folder as services.exe. %Temp% is a variable that refers to the Windows temp folder. By default, the location of the temp folder in Windows XP is C:\Documents and Settings\
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Shell = "explorer.exe "%temp%\services.exe""
This instructs Windows to load services.exe instead of explorer.exe, thus allowing the trojan to manipulate the view of files and folders on the system.
Trojan.Win32.Delf.aam hides legitimate folders and creates a copy of itself using the original folder name. This can cause some users to believe their original folders have been deleted. Further, when antivirus software encounters the copy of the trojan and rightfully deletes it, some users believe this is deleting their own data which was contained in the original folders.
How To How to Remove GoogleUpdate.exe
Google Chrome, Google Lively, Google Earth, and an untold number of other Google applications may install an update mechanism named googleupdate.exe, googleupdater.exe, or something similar. The googleupdate may continually attempt to access the Internet without requesting permission and without providing an option to disable it. This behavior may persist even after the parent application has been removed. While there's no single way to rid the system of googleupdate, the following tips provide the common install locations.
USB Antivirus: Portable Protection
Korean-based Iocell has announced VaccineDrive, a USB drive that includes the Hauri ViRobot antivirus scanner. Iocell uses C2, their own developed operating system. They claim to the be the "World's First Portable Anti-Virus Drive. But the C2 platform wasn't even released until Sep '05, and the VaccineDrive specifically was not released until January 13, 2005. Iocell claims that C2 is 'open platform', but that can be widely interpreted and they offer little insight into what that interpretation might be.
Which is kind of interesting, because SanDisk and M-Systems were the two companies that formed U3. But if you search SanDisk and look at their newly released Cruzer Titanium USB drive, it comes with AVAST - and not McAfee. However, McAfee's scanner is included on the Verbatim Store 'n' Go U3 Smart Drive.
The obvious advantage of a USB-based antivirus is that you can easily update it simply by plugging it into any Internet-connected PC. A second huge plus is that the USB drive also functions as a storage device and a U3 USB drive can support a number of other useful applications as well. For those worried about durability, SanDisk's Cruzer Titanium USB drive is protected by LiquidMetal's titanium casing, allowing it to withstand up to 2000 pounds of pressure.
About antivirus help you by using system of antivirus to your pc know about antivirus scann properly use and remainig well with your virus free pc
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