Over a span of time using computers, many people find themselves in a situation where they have gained some unwanted passengers along the way. These unwanted passengers are often in the form of malware (viruses, spyware, adware, etc.) and other potentially unwanted software. What’s the harm in having these guys around? Isn’t the age old saying “the more the merrier”? Well not in this case. These pieces of software are like the troublemakers at the party of your computer journey; they cause security issues, slow down the computer, and many other frustrating issues that will make you want to throw the computer right out the window. The below steps will ensure your unwanted guests are swiftly removed.
NOTE: These steps are provided for informational purposes. Users should follow at their own risk. Every computer is different and can have a different reaction to the below steps including but not limited to: blue screen/Windows corruption, loss of Internet, and other major issues. Overture IT Group Inc. holds no responsibility for damage caused by the steps outlined below.
1) Remove the program through Control Panel
What you’ll want to do first is actually remove the program using proper uninstallation techniques. This means going to Control Panel and removing the program. The reason why we do this step first before anything else is because we want to systematically remove traces of the program so that nothing is left behind.
2) Use AdwCleaner
The next step is to run this handy tool called AdwCleaner. It can be downloaded at: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
This tool is so simple to use, just download and run it (no installation required). You will get a new screen where you can click scan, wait a bit for it to find unwanted items, then select the clean button. After it is done, it will ask you to reboot; when it starts back up it will display a small log that shows you what was removed.
That is pretty much all there is to it.
3) Use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free (MBAM)
MBAM is a great program that has helped us out of a lot of binds over the years. They offer a free version and a paid version. For the purposes of cleaning infections, the free version is what you need. However, if you like the product I strongly suggest you support the company and purchase the paid version. It can be found at: https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/
It does require an installation, after that you just follow the on-screen menus to run a scan of your machine. Go take care of something else for a while and when you come back you’ll find it is completed and it will list what was found so that it can be removed. MBAM has a great detection engine and will find those pesky files that other anti-virus/cleaning tools are unable to find.
4) What happens if none of this works?
If you try all of the above steps and still you seem to be plagued with malware or other unwanted software, contact an IT professional. They will be able to assist in making sure you are virus-free.
Contact us today for help with malware removal!