Please note - these cleanup programs
require some basic (and in some cases advanced) knowledge of PCs to avoid
causing additional problems. These links are provided for your information
and as a service of Oak Park Consulting but should be used with due caution.
Borrowed from a process detailed on
geekstogo.com (see geekstogo.com for
terrific information from a large community of helpful people).
Step One: Preparation
If you're having trouble connecting to the Internet try running the
WinSockFix utility to repair your connection:
-
LSP Fix (Repairs Winsock 2
settings, caused by buggy or improperly-removed Internet software, that result
in loss of Internet access)
CleanUp! - -
Homepage
CleanUp!, is a quick and easy way to delete temporary files from your
system. Simply deleting these temp files may clear some infections,
and will make running the following scans faster.
- Install and run. Click on the button
labeled CleanUp!.
- When it finishes it will prompt you to
restart Windows - there will be one or two files it cannot delete
when Windows is running - however, they will be deleted next time
Windows starts up.
Step Two:
Scan for Spyware/Adware
Ad-aware SE -
Home Page
- Install the program and launch it. If you have a previous
version of Ad-Aware installed, during the installation of the new
version you will be prompted to uninstall or keep the older version
- be sure to uninstall the previous version.
- First, in the main window, look in the bottom right corner and
click on Check for updates now and download the latest
reference files.
- Next, we will configure Ad-Aware to perform a full scan. In the
Ad-Aware main window, click on the gear icon at the top of the
screen to open the preferences window. In the General window,
make sure the following options are selected:
1) Automatically save log-file
2) Automatically quarantine objects prior to removal
3) Safe Mode (always request confirmation)
Click the Scanning button on the left-hand side and make sure
the following options are selected:
1) Scan within archives
2) Scan active processes
3) Scan registry
4) Deep scan registry
4) Scan my IE Favorites for banned URLs
5) Scan my Hosts file
Please also click on Select drives & folders to scan and select
your hard drive(s). Then click the Advanced button on the
left-hand side and make sure all the options under Log-file Detail
Level are selected. Next, click the Tweak button on the
left-hand side. Click on Scanning Engine and make sure the
following options are selected:
1) Unload recognized processes & modules during scanning
2) Obtain command line of scanned processes
3) Scan registry for all users instead of current user only
Click on Cleaning Engine and make sure the following options
are selected:
1) Always try to unload modules before deletion
2) During removal, unload Explorer and IE if necessary
3) Let Windows remove files in use at next reboot
4) Delete quarantined objects after restoring
Finally, click on Safety Settings and make sure the following
options are selected:
1) Automatically select problematic objects in results lists
2) Write-protect system files after repair (Hosts file, etc)
- Click on Proceed to save the preferences. Then please
click the Start button on the bottom right side to begin a
scan. Select Use custom scanning options and then click
Next. Ad-Aware will then scan for malware.
- Save the log file when it asks and then click Finish. Do
not post the Ad-aware log in this forum unless requested.
- When finished, mark everything for removal and get rid of it.
(Right-click the window and choose Select All from the drop
down menu and click Next).
- Trouble?
Lavasoft Support Forum