How to Treat Malware in Computers
Malware is a term used to describe different types of software that has an adverse affect on your computer. Viruses, spyware, trojans and worms are all types of malware and can steal sensitive data or cause your computer to behave erratically. Some types of malware can behave covertly and might manifest in the form of pop-up advertisements, redirecting you to websites, installing extra toolbars on your browser that you can't remove and unexpected and repetitive system crashes. You can use several methods to remove malware, depending on how advanced the software is.
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Instructions
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Update and run your antivirus software. This will be the best way to defend your computer against malware as most antivirus programs have the ability to remove suspicious files, leaving the rest of you hard drive intact. If the malware has affected your computer to the point where you cannot update your antivirus software anymore, try updating it on another machine and then transferring the software to the affected machine via USB stick. Copy the software from the USB stick onto your desktop and then run it as you would your existing software. When running an anti-virus scan, disconnect from the Internet first and remove anything the software flags as high risk or dangerous.
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Look through the Add/Remove Programs function for suspicious software or programs that shouldn't be there. You will need to disable System Restore before doing this so your computer doesn't save a back-up version of your hard drive with the malware. To disable System Restore, go to "Start," "My Computer," "Properties" and then "System Restore." Select "Turn System Restore off" and save your changes. Once you have done this, return to "My Computer" and select "Add/Remove Programs." Choose the program you want to uninstall from the list, click "Change/Uninstall" and follow the on-screen instructions. When looking for suspicious programs, pay attention to any ending in ".exe" as these types of files might contain malware.
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Reinstall your operating system. This should be viewed as a last resort as you will lose your data and will have to reinstall your software. However, this can be an effective way of treating malware. You will need to reboot your computer using a CD-ROM with a copy of your operating system on it. For example, most Windows computers now come with a copy of the operating system on disc. You should only carry out this procedure when your computer is disconnected from the Internet or any other networks; otherwise it will be more vulnerable to malware attacks. Once you have reinstalled your operating system, check your security settings and install up-to-date antivirus software.
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Tips & Warnings
Back up any critical files before attempting to remove malware from your computer. If the worst happens and you delete something important or your hard drive can't be rescued, you will still have a copy of your files.
If don't feel confident deleting unknown files off your computer or aren't sure how to use anti-virus software, always check with a professional before taking any action.
References
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