7 Responses to “What Steps Can Be Taken To Fix A Computer Infested With Spyware?”

1. antzjosh Says:
   July 2nd, 2009 at 11:12 pm

   fall back to a date that the computer was not yet infected and do a system restore… after that, do a spyware scan… you’ll be amazed at the amount of junk that shows up….
   you also mentioned that data loss is does not matter…. if that’s the case, i would suggest that you clean out the whole hard disk and do a reinstall…. that’s a sure way of getting rid of malware and all spyware…….. you’ll need to make a list of all your installed softwares so you can reinstall them after the full system reinstallation.

2. Ice T Says:
   July 2nd, 2009 at 11:26 pm

   Sometimes you only need to wait to spy-ware left off but in your case i don’t think.
   You didn’t tell more detail do you scan with programs like Ad-aware see personal,super anti spyware,spy-bot to download this software’s from your friend computer is like nightmare so best is you download the software and install on friends computer this may take about 2 hours to take or just delete cookies in Internet settings.

3. your_z_t Says:
   July 3rd, 2009 at 5:21 am

   If the computer is seriously infected, you may not be able to install any security software (AntiVirus / AntiSpyware etc.)
   1) If you have a reasonable idea of how long ago, the machine was (more or less) “clean”, use System Restore to go back in time. If it gets cured, then disable System Resore (for all Hard Disk partitions). The reboot and re-enable it on desired HD partitions (C:, D: etc)
   2) Afterwards, run a complete scan in AntiVirus and AntiSpyware programs already installed.
   3) If you have a broadband connection (and you can still get onto the Internet, run an online scan at TrendMicro’s HouseCall.
   NOTE : Diable System Restore before doing this. Re-enable it when you feel the PC has been cleansed.http://housecall65.trendmicro.com/
   If the computer can not access (or stay on )the net, then go to a clean computer and download DrWeb’s standalone CureIt utility. Copy it on a USB memory stick or burn to a CD. The bring it back to the infected PC let it clean it.http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/
   NOTE : If the viruses / malware corrupted program files beyond repair, one or more programs may need to be reinstalled.
   Run System File Checker inside a DOS Box to check (and restore) Windows System Files. Have XP CD handy.
   sfc /ScanNow

4. Dennis R Says:
   July 3rd, 2009 at 6:46 am

   Before anything as major as wipe’n'clean, I’d run a good spyware removal program.
   I like AdAwareSE, it’s even free…http://lavasoft.com/
   Good luck!

5. cherokee Says:
   July 3rd, 2009 at 9:11 am

   download spybot search and dystory
   Adaware
   avg antispyware
   spyblaster
   good programs to use

6. ayedun Says:
   July 3rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm

   yes , system restore would work very perfectly

7. MLM Says:
   July 3rd, 2009 at 4:51 pm

   You could try the following steps to see if you can get the computer cleaned up.
   Firstly update and run your anti-virus product. You can also run a free online scan as well as some malware can actually corrupt or disable your resident security products. Here are a few online scans you can run:
   Trend – http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
   Panda – http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/Ac...
   Norton – http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/defau...
   Second download, update and run scans using the following products:
   SuperAntispywarehttp://superantispyware.com/
   Spybot S&D (free version requires manual updating)http://www.safer-networking.org/en/downl…
   AVG AntiSpywarehttp://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tp…
   Adaware from Lavasoft (free version requires automatic updating)http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-a…
   (These programs can be run in Safe Mode after downloading and updating)
   Third, after cleaning your system, disable System Restore, reboot and re-enable System Restore when you log back on. This will clear the malware that may still be lurking in System Restore, which could be reinstalled should you need to rollback at some point. Additionally, a reboot may be required to complete the malware removal process.
   Lastly, you may also want to install the following tool. It is free and requires you to check for and enable updates manually once a week or so. It uses no system resources.
   SpywareBlaster (inoculates, not a spyware removal tool)http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareb…
   ================================
   If you cannot get it removed after the above, you may want to join a tech group that specializes in providing manual instructions on malware eradication.
   Free technical help forums
   AumHa Forumshttp://aumha.net/index.php
   Bleeping Computershttp://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/
   Spybot S&D Forumshttp://forums.spybot.info/
   Lavasoft Forumshttp://www.lavasoftsupport.com/
   Spyware Info Forumshttp://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?…
   GeekstoGohttp://www.geekstogo.com/forum/forums.ht…

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