Virus, Spyware and Malware Removal Toolkit
As a computer technician one of the tasks I have to do ALL too often is try to clean out a Windows XP based machine that’s been hijacked by software that does ALL sorts of strange things. I think the most unusual I saw was one that installed a screensaver that mimicked a windows boot, blue screen of death (BSOD) and then an auto reboot, another BSOD, etc. Some pests can prevent you from visiting antivirus vendor sites, can close browser windows automatically, can prevent access to task manager, can put up a background on the screen that you don’t have adequate antivirus protection or that there are problems with your computer, etc. They can impede productivity with popups that say you need to install xyz software to fix the problem and they can sucker people out of hard earned money.
In short, they’re a pain in the neck to say it nicely.
The absolute BEST way to make absolutely certain that a system is clean is to wipe it fresh and reinstall Windows XP. Unfortunately, many people lose their Windows XP install cds, or never received it from the pc manufacturer (which is worth a several page RANT all of it’s own!) So, for them the option is 1)clean up their existing install, 2)buy another windows xp license and disk 3) buy a new computer. Usually the cheapest option turns out to be #1.
Since I have to do a lot of such cleanups I’ve got a collection of favorite utilities that I make use of. Why so many utilities here? They each have their strengths. Antivirus software of course specializes in cleaning out viruses but in recent years is doing better in the spyware removal. Antispyware software usually has better antispyware coverage, but the landscape is so diverse that it still seems no single product is a bulletproof answer. Also, I like to think of it as getting two or three opinions on if the system is clean. If I can get each of these tools claiming the system is clean, it’s a pretty good bet that we’re finally cleaned out.
First off, is an essential. A freely available antivirus download. If I’m working on a persons home computer the first choice is usually the free AVG antivirus. If it’s a business I usually steer people towards the pay version of AVG. If they already have antivirus that they want to keep, that’s fine, but it usually has to be reinstalled or renewed because many pests disable or maim your existing antivirus. 8.0 of AVG does a good job identifying and getting out all of the myriad trojans and “possibly unwanted programs” that do sneak installs that previous Antivirus versions didn’t seem to blink an eye at.
Spybot Search and Destroy - this is another good tool in the arsenal. This is good to cover the classic spy and adware programs. This includes many rogue antivirus and rogue anti-spyware programs.
Malware bytes anti-malware this is a nice recent addition to my toolkit for cleaning up systems. It seems to be able to pick up some things I’ve missed with spybot and or AVG.
For some of those specific bugs it can be handy to have a tool for a specific type of bug.
CWShredder is the tool of choice to remove CoolWebSearch.
To the surprise of many, the antivirus companies typically have standalone FREE removal tools for various viruses and baddies out there:
Symantec FREE virus removal tools
McAfee Free virus removal tools (this may not have been updated in a while.)
They also have a removal tool called Stinger for a variety of bugs.
Kaspersky has a raft of removal tools too for free download.
As does Grisoft (AVG).
As time allows I’ll be adding more of the handy cleanup utilities I use here. A good place to start for general system utilities though is the sysinternals utilities which are currently owned by Microsoft.
I’ve not typically been VERY enthused about “online virus scans” because of some potentially fundamental drawbacks with such, but from time to time I make use of Trend Micro’s Housecall (online java/web based malware scanner) as a quick first or second opinion on a system’s status.
Here’s Panda Antivirus ActiveScan - only cleans out what it finds after registration. (And some things are not cleaned out by the online scan, but by the paid software.)
Kaspersky Virusscanner - another good online scanner.
F-secure has an online scanner.
SuperAntiSpyware has a free home edition.
Other tools are SDFix and Combofix.
Another useful tool for finding hidden registry entries and the like (possible rootkit activity) is RootkitRevealer.
“malware removal” - Google News
Ad-Aware 2008 Free 7.1.0.11 - Spyware-Scanner - WinFuture
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Ad-Aware 2008 Free 7.1.0.11 - Spyware-Scanner
WinFuture, Germany - von Markus Pytlik für WinFuture.de Lavasofts Ad-Aware ist eines der beliebtesten AntiSpyware-Tools und wird seit Jahren auch in einer kostenlosen Variante … |
Zlob virus heats up Canada's malware numbers - ITWorld Canada
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Zlob virus heats up Canada's malware numbers
ITWorld Canada, Canada - This means that out of 1000 computers inspected by Microsoft, at least 8.1 of machines required malware removal. The worldwide average heat reading is 10.0. … |
Microsoft: Trojans are huge and China is tops in browser exploits - That Happened!
 That Happened! |
Microsoft: Trojans are huge and China is tops in browser exploits
That Happened!, New York - Overall, malware removal increased by 43% over the year before, showing that while vulnerabilities are decreasing, the attacks are increasing yearly. … |
מיקרוסופט: עלייה בנוזקות לחלונות - News1 מחלקה ראשונה
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מיקרוסופט: עלייה בנוזקות לחלונות
News1 מחלקה ראשונה, Israel - לפי מיקרוסופט, מספר הנוזקות במחשבים המריצים את מערכת ההפעלה חלונות נמצא בעלייה משמעותית מה גרם לעלייה? ומה אפשר לעשות בנידון על-מנת לשפר את המצב? … |
Malware on PCs the rise, but there is good news as well - TG Daily
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Malware on PCs the rise, but there is good news as well
TG Daily - Microsoft’s analysts point out the overall malware removal rate on PCs climbed by 43% over H2 2007, which, however, may not be entirely bad news, … |
Cyber security breach: Network war - XPRESS
 XPRESS |
Cyber security breach: Network war
XPRESS, United Arab Emirates - … which looks like its Microsoft telling you ‘Please download the latest malware removal tool’ and you click on it and in fact you download a malware. … |
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