I Think I'm Infected, Now What?

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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.

You should head over to either of the 2 following free, full system online av scans, do both to ensure you get as much as possible.

Trend Micro HouseCall

Be sure to have the 'Auto Clean' button ticked before you begin.

Panda ActiveScan

This will produce a log for pasting into a thread, should you decide to start one in our forums here. An excellent tutorial was developed by JeanInMontana and is posted in our forums.

Once you have scanned with all of those, next lets get antispyware scans going.

Then you should run one of the most advanced scanners available today:

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

A staple in the security community is Ad-Aware 2007.

Recently updated to be compatible with Windows Vista and improved to remove malware more efficiently.

Next, we move onto another good dependable long time fav, Spybot Search & Destroy v1.5.

Altho critics seem to think this application has gotten less effective, I've found it to still do a good job.

DL both, check for updates immediately, then let each remove\quarantine what each finds, rebooting in between each for a fresh look at your system.

Here are tutorials for both, by Bleeping Computer, by far and away, the best collection of tutorials on the net.

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

Now that you have read all about the security apps here I will link you to some installation tutorials for them. Most, done by Bleeping Computer They are some of the best, if not the best, with screenshots and information of usage, updating and more.

SpywareBlaster Installation Tutorial v4.0

How to install, setup and update w\screenshots. New version just released, See this page for details.

WinPatrol 2007 v14.0

Basic explanation of features contained within WinPatrol.

Hosts File Installation Tutorial

By the creators of MVPS Hosts File.

IE-SPYAD Installation Tutorial

Detailed installation of IE-SPYADs