How To Manually Remove Computer Viruses Without Antivirus Software

Need to Manually Remove a Computer Virus Without Virus Protection Software?

Removing computer viruses, malware, spyware, adware, and key loggers without the use of an antivirus program is one skill I have developed quite well as a research junkie who loves to research anything and everything that crosses my path. However, on a computer, researching everything that crosses path is risky behavior, and I have suffered the consequences a few times, having plenty of opportunities to develop my virus removal skills by removing computer viruses like the trojan horse, key loggers, adware, and other malware without the use of any antivirus programs a few times due to the fact that I did not have the money to keep the Norton Antivirus protection software updated. Isn't that how most of us get those annoying computer viruses in the first place... because we did not update our virus protection software like the makers of those antivirus programs want?

Depending on the programming of the malware, spyware, adware, or other unwanted computer virus, it may be possible to remove the computer virus infecting your computer yourself. However, it can sometimes be a long, tricky process to remove viruses from your computer, and can cause damage to your computer without the proper precautions. Therefore, even though I am providing the information on how to remove computer viruses without antivirus software later in this hub, if you are not going to use an anti virus software, I recommend that you only remove the computer virus from your computer after taking all the necessary precautions of backing up your computer. Using a good virus protection software such as Malwarebytes to remove computer viruses, adware, etc., is a much safer process for your computer, and it can remove computer viruses a lot faster.

The Most Well Known Anti-Virus is Not Always the Best Anti-Virus Software

Neither the computer viruses, nor the anti-virus programs are created equal. In fact this past August I was attacked by one of the most vicious computer viruses created, called the fFollower.exe, which is a nasty, evil trojan horse. The fFollower.exe computer virus creates start-up files, registry files, and various types of other files which will copy names of files that were already on your computer, making duplicate files to tie up your computer processes and resources. While this trojan horse is doing all that, it is also creating new system processes. The symptoms of this computer virus are horrible; all of a sudden your computer begins the restart process, and as soon as your computer restarts, a window pops up that says something about the fFollower.exe, with a little picture on it that looks like a devil. Then, that window vanishes as quickly as it came and the next thing you know, system windows, Internet Explorer windows, and JavaScript windows start popping up so fast your head starts spinning, I almost thought I was in a scene from the Exorcist. All of which floods the computer processes, and can only lead to one outcome... a computer running slow until the eventual and inevitable computer crash. As I had just signed up with a new internet service provider and received from them the Norton AntiVirus Online, I thought what luck, and started the virus scan. Time was running out for Ace (my computer) and I; every minute that passed, Ace was closer to death, I could just see it. The damage this trojan horse had already caused was drastically slowing down my computer, and the Norton antivirus virus scan showed nothing but a tracking cookie. My luck was out and I was left with no other option.

Time to Search the Web

What I found was this virus protection software called Malwarebytes. It claimed it could remove malware, spyware, adware, key loggers, and trojan type computer viruses that most of the well known anti-malware, anti-spyware, and antivirus programs failed to detect, and that is what I needed. Thankfully Malwarebytes has a free version to download instantly, which only varies from the full version in the fact that the full version provides real-time protection, scheduled scanning, and scheduled updating. The Malwarebytes software with just the quick scan feature, picked up a total of 40 computer viruses, worms, trojan horse, adware, spyware, and other malicious files that Norton's antivirus didn’t even have a clue about. Of course I also did a full system scan just to make sure I had removed all the computer viruses, and I was glad that I did, as it found 13 more viruses, including that evil trojan horse the fFollower.exe.

Just to let you know I have since then purchased the full version, which cost only half the price as a lot of the well known anti-virus programs, because of the real-time protection, scheduled scanning, and scheduled updating. I must say, it is well worth paying half the price of what the makers of Norton antivirus charge, just to have that real-time protection. Did you know that when you are connected to the internet you can be, and most likely are bombarded with hackers trying to hack into your computer every minute? The real-time protection that Malwarebytes provides has prevented so many attacks on my computer on a daily basis that I can’t even keep track.

Another Discovery

While I was searching online for information on how to get rid of the computer virus I also found the Threat Expert , which anyone who owns a computer should know about in case there is ever a time when a good virus protection software is not available. This web site analyzes and reports the behavior of computer viruses, worms, Trojans, adware, spyware, and other security-related risks. These reports are useful for hunting the suckers down yourself, as they tell you the file names and aliases created, processes created, registry keys created, and other information about the virus. We will be using this site later when we remove the virus without using anti-virus software.

Before We Start the Virus Hunt

I must say that it is very important to know what is stored on your computer and always have a complete back-up of your computer. Knowing this will help you identify any new files that you did not create, or install, that may be malicious. The back-up will allow you to restore your computer to a previous state if all else fails. If you do not have a complete back-up of your computer, and you follow this advice, you are doing so at your own risk, and I am not liable for any damage.

Know Your Enemy

Any great war general will tell you to know your enemy, get inside their head, think like they think, act like they act, become their best friend, as this will prepare you to overcome your enemy. A computer virus is your enemy, is it not? The only way you can truly defeat an enemy is if you know all you can about it. So engage yourself with the virus, keep an eye out for any security messages that pop up, as these usually provide the exact name of the virus that has infected your computer. If it gives you a security message that says more info click here, or anything to click on that does not require you to enter your personal financial information, then you need to click on it. Just make sure you are prepared to write down any file name and directory path (example: C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\LocalLow\Temp\Virus) or the name of the product that it gives you, and always remember to NEVER give it your personal financial information.

Now if you were lucky enough to catch a security message and get the name of the virus itself, then you can continue on to the Threat Expert and get all the information on it that you can. If you were only able to get a product name, then you need to do a search on it and you’ll find out that the product is fakeware. When deciding which search result to click on it is a good idea to look for results that link you to a forum, as discussions take place there, there is a better possibility of finding the information you need, such as the name of the virus that has infected your computer. Once you have the name of the virus and the report from Threat Expert you can begin the hunt, which if you were able to get the directory from the security message then it won’t be much of a hunt, because that is where that little bugger is hiding.

Seek and Destroy that Computer Virus

First you will want to look at your virus report and take note of what processes the virus created in the system. This is because you can’t easily kill (delete) computer viruses unless you put them to sleep first. So to put the virus to sleep we will end all the processes that the report says was created by the virus.

Here Are the Virus Removal Steps I Use

1. One thing we will do to end the processes created by this virus, is block the program from starting up when your computer starts up. The easiest way to do this is to click your “start” button on your desktop, then click on the “help and support” from your start menu. In the search field type in and select “start system configuration” from the results. Once the system configuration opens you will need to select the “Startup” tab then go through the list to select all the programs that have an unknown manufacturer and disable them. Note: unknown manufacturers are almost always a virus. Restart your computer to close any currently running versions of the virus.

2. When your computer restarts you will open your Task Manager immediately, which can be done quickest by pressing your Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys all at the same time and then select start task manager from the options you are given. Select the “Processes” tab and then compare the processes on your computer to the list of virus created processes from the report. Any processes running on your computer that match the ones on the report need to be ended, until all virus created processes are gone.

3. Now we will go to the directory of where the virus is and delete the virus. Tip: viruses like to hide themselves inside your “Temp” folder. If you got the directory path from the security message the virus gave you then all you need to do is open up your "my computer" explorer window and follow the path; where C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\LocalLow\Temp\Virus… would mean that you click on the computer hard drive, click the “users” folder, click “YourUserName” folder, and so on until you get to the virus. Now delete any file names that match what is on the virus report.

4. Finally we will go into the registry and remove the registry keys the virus put in. To go into the registry click on your “start” button on your desktop and then click on “run” from your start menu. Type in regedit and click "OK" You can find the exact name and directory path of the registry keys created by the virus from the virus report. Delete the keys that the virus created and you should be virus free.

Think You're Finished?

You're not quite finished yet. Now that the virus is removed from your computer you need to change your passwords. This is because all the wonderful little cookies that you gather from all the web sites you visit have been telling that virus all about you and the web sites you visit, such as personal information including passwords, that may have been stored in the cookies, and in return the virus has sent all of this private information to the highest bidder. So please remember to change all of your passwords once the virus has been removed.

Copyright © 09/13/2010 by A.K. Love (dragnhaze)

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