Computer Virus Fix
From the
experts at Protean Systems, over 20 years experience in designing
computer systems, software, and web design.
So, Your Computer is Infected with a Virus - What Should You Do Now?
Have
you ever sat in front of your monitor completely frustrated trying to figure
out how to remove the latest virus that has infected your computer?
Only in the end, you give up call one of your computer friends and
worriedly say:
"My computer doesn't work! I
think I have a virus! What should I do? Can you fix
it?"
Well, if you've been working in the computer field as long as I have, you
would be as overwhelmed as I am by the almost weekly calls with requests
for help with the same exact problem!
Once your System crashes or you're infected
with a virus and you have tried almost every anti-virus program in the
world to remove it, it's probably too late to fix it! Most viruses
can be easily removed, but some viruses are just too stubborn. You
could just keep trying for hours and even days, but if you're just like
me, I need my computer to start working again right now!
For this
reason, I have decided to share with the world the little known secrets to
resolve this problem quickly before this should happen to you.
It is always best to be prepared before the
virus or a System crash comes knocking at your door!
The process
is fairly easy and simple, but I would probably ask your computer friend
to stop by and give you a hand.
If you perform the following steps, I
promise you that you will never, ever have to pull your hair out to fix
your computer again! And, hopefully,
by sharing this with you, it will decrease the number of calls to my
office, but probably increase the number to yours.
The Simple Solution - How to
Completely Remove a Virus In Six Easy
Steps!
Step 1: Never Save Your Personal
Data on the Same Drive as Your Windows Operating System! This is a
MUST!!!
Why is this? Because if your
Operating System crashes for whatever reason including viruses (and it
will - let me assure you), you will likely also lose all of your personal
data if it is located on the same disk drive! And, when that happens, to say the least, you will
not be very happy!
Having to repair a crashed or infected
computer is not only frustrating but time consuming. I have tried
many times to fix an infected Operating System by running anti-virus or
anti-spyware programs to no avail. I've even tried reinstalling
Windows by selecting the Repair option on installation disk,
but this rarely works because your installation disk is usually an older version of
Windows and doesn't mix well with the newer updates and often won't
remove the virus that has
infected your system. The best is always a fresh, complete, clean
install but this is a mess because it's a long process and you have to
completely reload all of your programs. But, it will absolutely fix a crashed System and remove your infected virus!
Unfortunately, it will also REMOVE all of your personal data as well
if your data is stored on the same System disk!
That means that all of your document files, your family pictures, your internet favorites, and
all of your emails will be deleted too! For this reason, you should always
(and I mean always) store your data on a separate drive. If your
Windows System drive crashes, your Data drive will be left intact saving
you headaches and grief!
How can you setup the two separate
drives? Well, if you already have two separate disks in your
computer, then it's easy. Just make one your System disk and the
other your Data disk. If you have only one hard disk in your
computer, no problem, you can just divide the single disk into to two
separate drives or partitions (the technical name for a drive). For
example, one drive can be Drive C: for your Windows Operating System and
another drive can be Drive D: for your Data drive. (Yes, this is
possible from one disk drive.)
For example, when you install Windows for the first time
or perform a complete reinstall, you have the option to divide
your disk into two or more drives. If your computer is already setup
where your Operating System and Data are located on the same drive,
you can divide it safely using the built-in tools on Windows Vista or
Windows 7 or use one of the many popular programs for
Windows XP such as
Partition Magic or
Parted Magic.
Once your Data disk is created, you can simply move your data from the
System drive to your newly created Data drive.
In addition, you also must take care because many
software programs by default will save data to your Windows C: drive.
You must find the option in these programs and change the default
directories to your Data drive. This includes your email program as
well.
Step 2: Always Make a Complete Backup of Your
Entire Windows Operating System Drive and Save it to Your New Data Drive AND
to an External Drive (if you have one)!
When you are confident that your System is
running perfectly with no viruses, you should use one of the many
available
backup
programs such as
Norton
Ghost or
Acronis to periodically save the entire disk of your Windows
Operating System to your newly created Data drive and to an external USB
drive if you have one. Purchasing an external backup drive is an
extremely good idea because it is not only relatively inexpensive, but you
can also use it to periodically backup your Data drive and to save a copy
of your System drive just in case your hard drive in your computer stops
working and requires you to buy a new one. When the hard drive
itself fails and you are using it for both System and Data drives,
everything will be lost requiring a complete backup to the newly purchased
drive! Plus, on the external drive, you can save a few revisions of
your System just in case you decide to restore a backup from a few months
ago.
 Backing up your
System and Data drives usually takes less
than an hour. The System backup is
critical because it can be used to reinstall your Windows Operating System
and all of your programs when you realize that there is no hope of
removing the infected virus or when your System has completely crashed.
Restoring your System from a known, clean backup is much
easier and less time consuming than the hours or even days trying to
figure out how to remove a virus that never seems to go away!
When should you give up trying to remove a
virus or fix your computer and just simply restore your System?
My rule of thumb is that if I am spending more that one hour of time to
trying to fix it, then it's time to just restore it! How many of my
friends have I seen trying to fix their computers for days or even weeks
but in the end their computers are just the same or just slightly better.
In my personal option, I would rather have a perfectly working computer in
less than an hour (the time it takes to restore) than to spend days only
to have a computer that kind of works or is just
slightly infected! Wouldn't you agree?
Step 3: Create a Boot CD Disk Using
Your Backup Program to Use to Start Your Computer When It is Infected or
Has Crashed.
Your Backup
Program will have the option of creating a Startup (Boot) CD to be used when your
System is infected or has crashed. The Boot CD is ESSENTIAL
because when your System is infected or has failed, you must be able to
startup your computer and access your Backup Program in order to restore
your Windows Operating System. The reason I suggest backing up your
Operating System to your Data drive as well as an external drive is
because some Backup Programs Boot CDs do not have the drivers necessary to
access these USB external drives. You would be extremely
disappointed to find
out after placing the Boot CD in your computer that your backup System file is on
an external disk that you cannot read!
Step 4: Install Anti-Virus Software,
Firewall Protection, and Anti-Spyware Programs on Your Computer Before
You're Infected!
 Finally,
it is extremely critical to make
sure that you have the software installed that protects you from getting a
virus in the first place or have the ability to quickly remove it once you
are infected! There are many good
Anti-Virus and
Firewall Protection programs available on the market. Not only
should you install these programs, but you MUST also install a few of the
good Anti-Spyware programs as well such as
Ad-Aware,
Spybot,
Malwarebytes,
AVG, and
Super Anti-Spyware.
The easiest way to find good programs is to
visit www.download.com (a highly
trusted source) and search for the programs you are interested in.
You can tell which programs are the most popular by noting the number of
times the program has been downloaded. Of course, the higher the
number of downloads the more popular the program.
You should run these programs weekly to
make sure to remove anything that's not wanted. Often before turning
off the computer off at night, I will run one of two of these programs
while getting ready to retire. However, these programs also have the
option to run automatically at various times during the week so you don't
have to remember to start them yourself. But, it is always a good
ideal to run these programs at the first indication that you might have
been infected. Most of the viruses are readily removable, but some
are extremely tricky and they can get through all of your protection just
by visiting a site that is infected!
Step 5: Make Sure that You Keep Your
Windows Operating System and Protection Software Fully Updated!
As viruses are identified by Microsoft,
they will send out updates to fix the holes in the System. These
updates are critical to keep out the old viruses and well as any potential
new viruses. Each of the Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware programs also
come will the ability to update their data files. Before running
these programs, make sure they're up-to-date and everything is
current.
Step 6: Keep All of Your Original
Software Installation CDs Including Windows and Any Manuals in One Easy to
Find Location!
It's almost guaranteed that when I visit a
family or friend's home to repair their computer and ask for their Windows
Installation CD or other software, they always respond that "it's around
here somewhere!" It doesn't make the repair process any quicker than
when you can't find those critical CDs and manuals right when you need
them. And in most cases, I think they will never be found unless
they are stored in a good, single location.
In Conclusion
By making a little bit of effort now before
you're infected or your System crashes, you
will find that you will be extremely happy when trouble comes because you
will be well prepared to quickly solve any potentially painful
problems. I'm extremely happy when I see my friends who followed the steps above
and avoided these frustrating moments.
Some of the steps may seem
a bit complicated for a novice, but by searching the internet you will be able to find
the simple instructions to complete them. But of course, as I
mentioned earlier, I would ask a computer friend to stop by
to assist
you.
If you still have any questions, feel free
to contact me personally by filling out the contact form below.
Thanks, good luck, and enjoy the exciting advancements in modern computing
and internet technology!
Jeff Perwin
Protean Systems
San Diego, California
Please Feel Free to Contact Me
With Your Questions or Comments
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