Help2Go.com

How We Remove Viruses and Spyware -

by The Help2Go Community
November 6, 2009

Here at Help2Go, we will work with you to remove viruses and spyware from your computer, absolutely FREE.

The only requirement is that YOU have to help us do it. Unless you follow the directions below, you will not receive a response to your spyware or virus problem. We receive many many questions every day, and as a volunteer service, we can only help those who are willing to help themselves.

Have we got a deal?  Great, then read on!

Please note: If you have a general computer question unrelated to spyware or browser hijacks, please post it to the Computer Help Forum instead.

Before you do anything, we suggest that you bookmark this article so that you can return to it later.

To clean your computer, first we are going to ask you to run some software. These software utilities are well-known throughout the anti-malware community as being the best tools for the job, and they are free for our purposes here.

Step 1: CCleaner

CCleaner is a little utility that removes unneeded temporary files from your computer.

Read CCleaner Tutorial

Download CCleaner

Step 2: SuperAntiSpyware

Unfortunately, there is no single anti-spyware program that removes ALL spyware. So we use two different scanners to make sure that nothing slips by.SuperAntiSpyware is the first anti-spyware program you should scan your computer with. It is free for personal use.

Read SuperAntiSpyware tutorial

Download SuperAntiSpyware

Step 3: Malwarebytes

The next antispyware program we will use is called Malwarebytes Anti-malware,

Read Malwarebytes tutorial

Download Malwarebytes view tutorial

Please note: If you already have SUPERAntiSpyware and/or Malwarebytes be sure to check for updates before scanning with them!

Step 4: Antivirus

You should have an up-to-date anti-virus program running on your computer. Anti-virus is NOT like anti-spyware. You should only have ONE anti-virus program running on your PC. If you don't have one, we recommend the free Avast anti-virus. Download Avast

Step 5: HijackThis

The next step is to create a HijackThis log and check it with the Help2Go Detective.

Read HijackThis tutorial

Download HijackThis 

Step 6: Post in the Spyware Help forum

Now post the contents of your HijackThis log file as well as your Malwarebytes Anti-malware log file and SuperAntiSpyware log file. We cannot and will not analyze your HijackThis log without a Malwarebytes log and a SuperAntiSpyware log as well.

When you do post your question in our Spyware Help forum, please check the box in your post that says "Notify me when a reply is posted". That way, you will get an email when someone posts a fix for your problem.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I include in my question post?
At minimum, tell us what your problem is. What kind of error do you see? Why do you think you have malware/spyware? You should include the contents of your HijackThis log file as well as your Malwarebytes Anti-malware log file. We cannot and will not analyze your HijackThis log without a Malwarebytes log as well.

Why do we ask you to run all of these programs?
For a malware expert to go through your log and identify problems, it may take about an hour of his/her time. By following the instructions and doing as much as you can by yourself, you may fix 90-100% of the problems on your PC. Considering that there is a huge shortage of trained anti-malware volunteers willing to donate 1 hour or more of their time PER HJT LOG, we feel that this is the best way to maximize our volunteer efforts.

This forum is run by volunteers who donate their time. We make an attempt to ensure that the help and advice posted is accurate and will not cause harm to your computer. However, we do not guarantee that they are accurate and they are to be used at your own risk.

Thank you for your patience!