I Think I'm Infected, Now What?

Adware, malware, spyware and hijacker help, discussions and information

Malware Advisor Blog

I Think I'm Infected!!! Now What??

With so many different symptoms to try and sort out, it can be hard to decide what to do, or where to start. Begin with the steps below.

First thing, don't panic if you think you are infected. Don't go thinking your hard drive is going to crash and you'll loose all your data. This isn't to say that this cannot happen, but it's highly unlikely it will.

If you're not sure what type of infection you have, its best to try a couple of online av scans first. Worms\trojans and viruses do the most damage, 9 out of 10 times, so getting rid of them first should be a priority.

If you're really unsure and don't want to run any scans, then by all means just head to our spyware removal forum an we'll get right to advising you on how to proceed.

Do not run any sort of specialty tool unless specifically instructed by an experienced security analyst. Users should also avoid copying fixes from other instructions which appear to apply to your case. Many instances this is not the case.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

This scanner is developed by one of the expert volunteers who has also developed other tools, such as About:Buster, QooFix and RogueRemover. You can find instructions on install and creating a scan in our spyware removal forum

Once the scans have all been completed and done their jobs, it would be nice if your machine was all back to normal. But in all too many cases, this does not always happen. Then, we move onto the next greatest app for malware inspection, Hijackthis. HijackThis will provide you with a listing of most everything running, startup list in detail and many of the components related to each bit of software on your machine. Extremely helpful in collecting info about the system. Below is a brief tutorial explaining just how HijackThis works when trained specialists in removing unwanted software from your machine instruct you to perform some of the operations with it.

How HijackThis works

You can download HijackThis! from the link contained in our forum here which will also describe how to install it and run a scan. Once that is done you're ready to post your log into our forums here. Be sure to include any logs generated by all software in your post. This is vital information and could save everyone involved alot of time.

Tutorials Links

WinPatrol 2008

Basic explanation of features contained within WinPatrol.

Hosts File Installation Tutorial

By the creators of MVPS Hosts File.