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4
Removing Infections
Although they are not harmless, most viruses that infect your computer do not destroy
data, play pranks, or render your computer unusable. Even the rare viruses that carry a
destructive payload usually produce their nasty effects in response to a trigger event.
In most cases, unless you know that a payload has activated, you have time to deal
with the infection properly. However, this unwanted computer code can interfere with
your computer's normal operation, consume system resources and have other
undesirable effects, so take viruses seriously and remove them when you encounter
them.
Unusual computer behavior, unexplained crashes, or other unpredictable events might
not be caused by a virus. If you believe you have a virus on your computer because of
occurrences such as these, a scan might not produce the results you expect, but it
helps eliminate one potential cause of your computer problems.
To clean your computer
If your computer has a virus or you suspect it has, and you have not yet installed the
on-demand scanner, follow these steps:
1 Isolate your infected computer from any network that it uses.
2 Download and unzip up-to-date anti-virus software and DAT files onto another
computer and create a CD.
3 Create a directory for the software on the hard disk of the infected computer.
4 Insert the CD into your CD drive, then copy the files from the CD to the directory
that you created in
5 Add the directory to the
Properties
6 At the command prompt, type the following to thoroughly scan the computer:
SCAN /ADL /ALL /CLEAN /WINMEM /PROGRAM
7 Shut down your computer and boot it into Safe Mode.
8 Scan your disks again immediately after the boot. At the command prompt, type:
SCAN /ADL /ALL /CLEAN /WINMEM /PROGRAM
This step is necessary because some infections can affect other files but this will
not be apparent until the computer has booted.
Step
3.
statement in your
PATH
window.
38
file or use the
AUTOEXEC.BAT
System
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