Author Topic: Free virus removal? (Read 4191 times)

MariaCatherine · « **on:** May 15, 2014, 10:06:48 AM »

Is there such a thing as free virus removal that works? A free analysis by AVG shows 4 viruses that can be removed by them for $100. I can't find them in the control panel.

crossbro · « **Reply #1 on:** May 15, 2014, 10:32:01 AM »

Talk to the techs at Best Buy.

Sometimes you can get scammed- they will create problems that only they can fix. Buy software off the shelf I would not mess with anything on-line.

MariaCatherine · « **Reply #2 on:** May 15, 2014, 11:03:53 AM »

Thanks for the advice.

It's not my own computer that's got the virus. It's my elderly father's. He uses IE (which I've told him is terrible) and Norton (also terrible), and is not ready to make any changes. I might be able to convince him to switch to Mozilla, but I'd only want to make that change if removing IE would get rid of the virus. I don't want to bother him with too many changes without being sure they'll get rid of the virus.

parentsfortruth · « **Reply #3 on:** May 15, 2014, 04:29:45 PM »

No no no.

Don't EVER pay money for that stuff unless the regular stuff doesn't work.

Okay, go get this thing and check for the virus and hopefully this will eliminate it with very little work.

https://www.malwarebytes.org/

If that still doesn't work, then let me know. I have more options.

SoldierOfChrist · « **Reply #4 on:** May 15, 2014, 04:49:58 PM »

Make sure to run CCleaner before running Mal ware bytes to considerably speed up the process. Run it in safe mode for both scans. If that doesn't clear things up, go to add/remove programs, sort by date of installation, and Uninstaller anything illegitimate. If you are not sure, then don't uninstall a program. If that still doesn't clear things up, you may need to run combofix, which is a very powerful virus removal tool, but it is risky. Don'the run it if you don't have to. All of the above is free.

SoldierOfChrist · « **Reply #5 on:** May 15, 2014, 06:21:05 PM »

CCleaner

combofix

SenzaDubbio · « **Reply #6 on:** May 15, 2014, 07:03:57 PM »

If he doesn't have to download much, I would suggest using Sandboxie to prevent viruses altogether. You can also search for JRT from bleeping computer, and that will get rid of much adware.

For a limited time still you can buy Malwarebytes Pro Lifetime off of Amazon. They stopped making lifetime licenses, so now is the time to buy it.

I wouldn't use Combofix unless it's a complete necessity, as it can corrupt the operating system in rare cases.

For virus free tools/programs:
www.filehippo.com
www.bleepingcomputer.com

ThomisticPhilosopher · « **Reply #7 on:** May 18, 2014, 08:58:06 AM »

Go to Distrowatch.com (look around and see what you like) and download a linux distribution (operating system). I would highly recommend this to anyone who is not a super professional that needs Windows for very specific software. Since you are a beginner, it would be best to start with a much simpler distro and then move onto harder stuff if you so desire. If you need any further help or recommendations with books or links to websites just PM me.

Plus the installation of it has been become so easy, and the learning curve has greatly been reduced. I would advice you to download Ubuntu, or try a live CD and see if you like it. Depending on what sort of hardware you have you might want to download XFCE (lighweight desktop) or KDE which is a full desktop experience very similar to Windows.

Here are the specific links, my best wishes to you! +Pax+

You can download a bittorent client to download it even faster, I would recommend an open source one like deluge

After the downloading the image, either use a USB or a DVD to burn the iso file. Now you can look at this website to help you decide which one you want. I could recommend this one for windows, just make sure whenever you install it from Windows to make sure to not click blindly next, because it will ask you to install some pretty stupid stuff (I hate this with free windows software). In Linux you never have to worry about malware, spyware in your software, because you download them through package manager's or even better from source (cryptographically secure downloads through a source repository). So you don't have to worry about all that crap! That website can also help you find some alternatives to commercial or open source software.

Hope that helps!

MariaCatherine · « **Reply #8 on:** May 19, 2014, 07:45:47 PM »

Quote from: parentsfortruth

No no no.

Don't EVER pay money for that stuff unless the regular stuff doesn't work.

Okay, go get this thing and check for the virus and hopefully this will eliminate it with very little work.

https://www.malwarebytes.org/

If that still doesn't work, then let me know. I have more options.

Is this compatible with Norton? My father is loyal to Norton!

MariaCatherine · « **Reply #9 on:** May 19, 2014, 07:48:00 PM »

Quote from: SoldierOfChrist

go to add/remove programs, sort by date of installation, and Uninstaller anything illegitimate. If you are not sure, then don't uninstall a program.

I did that, and also a Norton quick scan, which claimed to remove 4 viruses. But it's still acting infected.

MariaCatherine · « **Reply #10 on:** May 19, 2014, 07:51:58 PM »

Quote from: ThomisticPhilosopher

Go to Distrowatch.com (look around and see what you like) and download a linux distribution (operating system). I would highly recommend this to anyone who is not a super professional that needs Windows for very specific software. Since you are a beginner, it would be best to start with a much simpler distro and then move onto harder stuff if you so desire. If you need any further help or recommendations with books or links to websites just PM me.

Plus the installation of it has been become so easy, and the learning curve has greatly been reduced. I would advice you to download Ubuntu, or try a live CD and see if you like it. Depending on what sort of hardware you have you might want to download XFCE (lighweight desktop) or KDE which is a full desktop experience very similar to Windows.

Here are the specific links, my best wishes to you! +Pax+

You can download a bittorent client to download it even faster, I would recommend an open source one like deluge

After the downloading the image, either use a USB or a DVD to burn the iso file. Now you can look at this website to help you decide which one you want. I could recommend this one for windows, just make sure whenever you install it from Windows to make sure to not click blindly next, because it will ask you to install some pretty stupid stuff (I hate this with free windows software). In Linux you never have to worry about malware, spyware in your software, because you download them through package manager's or even better from source (cryptographically secure downloads through a source repository). So you don't have to worry about all that crap! That website can also help you find some alternatives to commercial or open source software.

Hope that helps!

Thanks. I will look into this when I'm near my own computer, which has Linux Debian, because I'm hoping to find an easier distro than Debian. At the moment I'm on my father's computer.

ThomisticPhilosopher · « **Reply #11 on:** May 20, 2014, 11:32:08 AM »

Yes, at first you might want to be frustrated etc... But just stick with it, it is worth the effort.

Even if initially it makes you take out some of your hair, it is so much easier to be able to have control of your data etc... Have control over your computer, you can reinstall like nothing without worrying about licensing fees.

What you might want to do if you are genuinely having trouble with Debian, is get some sort of external hard drive and save all the data, you can use grsync to do that easily. Once you have your stuff backed up then you can be able to re-install. You might want to do this especially if you already have some virus installed or spyware etc...

Its super easy to do it also, just make sure you properly back everything up! I believe in KDE your package manager will be muon? So try searching for that either with alt + F2 or by going to your search your desktop.

MariaCatherine · « **Reply #12 on:** May 20, 2014, 08:16:17 PM »

For the record, these (from another thread) worked. I had to use both. If they fail me in the future I'll give the other advice here a try.

Quote from: SenzaDubbio

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/junkware-removal-tool/

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

Thank you all for your kind help!
:cheers: