How to clean an infected Windows PC:  A guide, plus advice needed.

moderator007 · 2018-03-21T20:58:52.000Z

Give it a shot of antibiotics.

Persechini · 2018-03-21T21:04:29.000Z

Windows defender

copperheaded · 2018-03-21T21:10:55.000Z

My preferred method:

moderator007 · 2018-03-21T21:12:58.000Z

Ha, ha That’s funny right there^

dchomak · 2018-03-21T21:19:39.000Z

Threadneedle:

All of the tools you’ve listed about work well for me and have done so for years; however, I tend to find that to give it a really good clean you need to take out the hard drive(s) from the system and manually clean them. It usually takes a couple of hours so I make sure that my schedule is clear. I will use the room with the least dust and close the door so that no more dust can be introduced. First of all I’ll take the drive out and use a precision screwdriver to undo the screws of the drive unit. Once the cover is off I set it to one side and wipe my fingers to get rid of the dust on them. I then carefully disassemble the actuator assembly and then the spindle, which now gives me free access to the platters… This is where we really get to work. I will then clean the platters using Brasso and a soft microfibre cloth. If there is a lot of malware then after use Brasso I will then also put the platters into a lint free pouch and put it into the washing machine on a very gentle cycle - I only use nonbio for platters. Once all of this is done I will reassemble the unit, making sure to use a straw as I’m just about to close the unit to recreate the hermetic environment they were in. SSDs are much easier to be cleaned and I simply use a diluted mixture of lemon juice, avacado, and greek yoghurt.

Hillary uses bleach.

moderator007 · 2018-03-21T21:37:21.000Z

Anyone ever seen this take over screen before?

.
I find that usually one certain antivirus software will work better for getting rid of unwanted guest.
But it’s usually depends on which type of virus, hitchhiker or trojan you get.
Seems that some software company’s specialize in different problems. I have always kind of thought to myself, that it wouldn’t be to hard for some of these company’s to release this stuff through back channels so that they could profit from the fix.
Just my two cents.

raccoon · 2018-03-21T21:28:15.000Z

moderator007:

Anyone ever seen this take over screen before?

I have not seen that...

Looks like a scam.

sp5it · 2018-03-21T21:33:06.000Z

I’ve seen it. Combofix helped.
Mike

moderator007 · 2018-03-22T02:27:45.000Z

sp5it:

I’ve seen it. Combofix helped.
Mike

That used to be my number 1 go to software, but eventually it just wouldn’t get the job done sometimes. It take some other software to clean it up and sometimes another.
Yeah, the “your computer has been locked” It is a scam.

shaydu67 · 2018-03-22T02:18:56.000Z

Ever since my IT guy told me to use sandboxIE I havent had any problems.

sovereignknight · 2018-03-22T02:39:04.000Z

For the troubled customers, (The ones you keep telling them to not let the fake Microsoft scammers get on your computer and lock down the PC with a Syskey password) We reinstall Windows, Install DeepFreeze By Faronics and setup an unfrozen partition so the customer is able to work on data/install programs. If they get a virus it won’t matter. Just reboot the computer and it cleans the slate. It’s a big F-U to the fake Microsoft scammers out there.

sovereignknight · 2018-03-22T02:50:07.000Z

moderator007:

Anyone ever seen this take over screen before?

.
I find that usually one certain antivirus software will work better for getting rid of unwanted guest.
But it’s usually depends on which type of virus, hitchhiker or trojan you get.
Seems that some software company’s specialize in different problems. I have always kind of thought to myself, that it wouldn’t be to hard for some of these company’s to release this stuff through back channels so that they could profit from the fix.
Just my two cents.

I’ve see a few variants of this. Including versions that speak in different languages, some that use your webcam and snap a picture of your face to instill the fear of implication even further. It’s amazing how many un-savvy internet users are out there. I make money off customers this way. Some learn from the mistakes they make, some do not.

Bottom line is, you can avoid all of this crap. Don’t go to B.S. websites. Stick to legit sites. If you get an unknown popup, don’t click on it. Kill your browser with the task manager. If you get a email, check the email address. You know it’s fake if it claims its supportchasebank@chace.lt.com <— red flag.

I’ve never had a virus on my computers as I know what to avoid and only visit legitimate websites.

sovereignknight · 2018-03-22T03:07:12.000Z

raccoon city:

Schoki:

I used Kaspersky, Anti MalwareBytes and Spybot - Search & Destroy. Got rid of everything with these. But usually using your common sense helps to avoid malware in the first place.

I haven’t used Spybot in a while.

Thanks for the tip!

Oh, and my computers rarely get infected.

I’m working on my mom’s computer, and I’ve tried all of my favorite programs, and it’s still infected.

A few effective programs for removing malware and viruses:

Hitman Pro

Kaspersky Anti-Virus

Lightbringer · 2018-03-22T04:56:11.000Z

raccoon city:

How do YOU clean an infected Windows PC?

Install Linux.

Windows is malware. :confounded:

Lightbringer · 2018-03-22T05:03:49.000Z

raccoon city:

I, on the other hand, browse some dangerous sites, but I claim that I know what I’m doing.

Yep, innernet prøn doesn’t watch itself…

raccoon · 2018-03-22T05:32:04.000Z

sovereignknight:

A few effective programs for removing malware and viruses:

Hitman Pro(link is external)

Kaspersky Anti-Virus

After cleaning my mom's computer with my five programs and Spybot, it runs much quicker.

It's not as fast as when it was new, so tomorrow I'll try HitmanPro.

Thanks for the recommendation.

sovereignknight · 2018-03-22T06:19:43.000Z

No problem. I’ve use it to clean customer systems and It will find things that Spybot, Super Anti-Spyware, and MalwareBytes will miss.

About speed when it was new, Ever since the recently discovered Meltdown/Specter fiasco, New patches have been released that, depending on the system, can reduce performance drastically if the processor is old. From what I understand, this performance loss is mostly found in Intel based systems. If the system is 5 years or newer, most likely, depending on the vendor, there will be a bios update that updates the CPU microcode to coincide with the Specter/Meltdown Windows patch.

Systems that experience the least amount of performance impact begin with Intel systems based on Haswell architecture, 4th generation i3/i5/i7 on up. The absolute least performance degradation is seen on the 8th generation or newer processors. (Less than 10% performance loss) Skylake 6th generation processors can experience up to a 10% hit in performance. This is only noticeable if you are already taxing your processor with maximum thread counts.

Using Windows 10 can reduce this performance loss a little bit verses Windows 7.

AMD appears to be effected by the Meltdown/Specter flaw, however AMD processors do not experience a performance hit like the Intel based CPUs. Specter exploit does not effect AMD systems remotely.

Macka17 · 2018-03-22T06:15:56.000Z

Hi.
Nowadays I use a Laptop rather than a PC. with 16gig Ram. 250 SSD.

PAID. “Bitdefender Total” recommended by my bank a decade or more ago.

NEVER had a boogie. blue screen. Nuttin’. In all that time.
and I “acquire” movies etc from all over the world. so go in some naughty places.
I’ve watched movies they have yet to release in this country yet, by months.

Also. Every 6 months or so.
I keep ALL files. except OS. and Bitdefender.on a 2 terra 7200 external HDD.
with a clean copy of, from supplier on a USB.

I disconnect my 2 terra hard,
Then Back to original. ALL emptied. The Lappie.

Insert a loaded USb with everything on it. WIN 10 Security, etc.
Reconnect 2 terra. and off we go again.
Takes about 2 hrs.

I go all over the net. and (so far.) still have a clean 14second start up computer.
PS. I,ve been using these since 286\386, pre WIN.
Used to assemblethem.

Free is ok. BUT. a reputable PAID security. has 24hr Back up…
To me. Well worth the few dollars.

sovereignknight · 2018-03-22T06:32:49.000Z

sp5it:

I’ve seen it. Combofix helped.
Mike

Combofix was a miracle program. I use to use that too. Unfortunately it is useless on Windows 10.

moderator007 · 2018-03-22T08:17:28.000Z

Just thought I might clear things up a bit with getting some of these unwanted quest on your computer.
Its not just porn sites that contain these unwanted quest. I’m not going to tell on myself here, so hopefully most will no what I’m talking about.
They are sites that have everything for free, sometimes they contain hidden free stuff like viruses. If you don’t know how to avoid these free extra’s or fix them after they take over it’s best not to visit those types of sites.
.
Sovereignknight gave some great advice here “If you get an unknown popup, don’t click on it. Kill your browser with the task manager”
They got me a few times with that one :person_facepalming:
.
I wouldn’t know 95% of the stuff I know about a computer if it wasn’t for these unwanted quest. There’s no telling how many hours I have in fixing my own computer, lots. Now, I’m more laid back and older (I like to think wiser) I visit those type sites very very rarely.
I haven”t had to install win in several years now, I had to restore a few times and get rid of unwanted quest. I’m doing pretty good compared to 20 years ago.