How to Scan Your Computer for Viruses, Trojans, and Other Malware

  1. Download and run the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. This free, Microsoft provided malware removal tool won’t find everything, but it will check for specific, “prevalent malware,” which is a good start.

    Tip: One way to speed up the scanning process is to delete temporary filesso that the anti-malware program doesn’t have to scan through all that useless data. Though it isn’t common, if the virus is being stored in a temporary folder, then doing this might even remove the virus right away before you start the scan.

     2. Update your anti-virus/anti-malware software installed on your computer.

Before running a complete malware/virus scan, you need to make sure the virus definitions are up to date.              These regular updates tell your antivirus software how to find and remove the latest viruses from your PC.

         Important: Don’t have a virus scan program installed? Download one now!There are several free anti-virus programs available, like AVG and Avast, so there’s no excuse for not running one. On that note – stick to just one. It might seem like a good idea to run multiple antivirus programs at once but in reality that usually causes problems and should be avoided.

        3. Run a complete virus scan on your entire computer. If you happen to have another non-persistent (not always running) antimalware tool installed, like SUPERAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes, run that too when this is done.
           Important: Specifically, make sure any virus scan includes the master boot record, boot sector, and any applications currently running in memory. These are particularly sensitive areas of your computer that can harbor the most dangerous malware.

Can’t Sign in to Your Computer?

It’s possible that your computer is infected to the point that you can’t effectively log on to the operating system. These are the more serious viruses that prevent the OS from launching, but there’s no need to worry because you have a couple options that will still work to get rid of the infection.

Since some viruses are loaded into memory when the computer first starts up, you can try booting into Safe Mode if you’re using Windows. That should stop any viruses that automatically load when you first sign in, and let you follow the steps above to get rid of them.

 Be sure to start Windows in Safe Mode with Networking if you haven’t yet downloaded the tool from Step 1 or don’t have any antivirus programs installed. You’ll need networking access to download files from the internet.

 

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