2. Virus Removal

Before taking any action on your system, please read (and print) these instructions completely. There are sometimes special notes or warnings that might apply to your situation. Proceed at your own risk.

The Removal Process

Now that you know which virus or worm is infecting your system, use one of the following tools to completely remove it from your system. Be certain to note which version of the virus or worm you are infected with. The tools only work for the versions listed. Often it is easiest to save the removal tool files to floppy disks and run them from there.

These instructions go fairly in-depth and jump around a bit, but follow them very carefully. It’s usually a good idea to read them through completely once before you use them to start cleaning your system. Place checkmarks next to each step as you complete it so you make sure not to skip any.

If you are running Windows Me or Windows XP follow the special instructions for disabling System Restore while you are cleaning your system.

If the removal tool encounters an error and cannot complete the scan, you will need to reboot your computer in Safe Mode. For nearly all versions of Windows since Windows 98, this can be done by restarting your computer and pressing the F8 ( function 8 ) key immediately after the startup messages show up on your screen. If you see the Windows logo indicating that Windows is loading, you pressed the F8 key too late; restart again and press and hold the F8 key a bit earlier. If you receive a keyboard failure error, you were a bit early; clear the error and immediately press F8 again. Eventually you should see a menu giving you different start options. You want the one that indicates Safe Mode (there might be several Safe Mode options, but you just want just plain Safe Mode). Once Safe Mode loads, your graphics will look hideous, everything will appear huge, and many features may be unavailable; that’s okay! You should be able to complete the removal process, and when you restart your computer, everything should return to normal, except maybe a few desktop icons will be out of place.

Downloading Virus-Specific Removal Tools and Instructions

The links below take you directly to Symantec’s Website. Can’t find your virus/worm listed? Symantec/Norton’s site has an extensive list of removal tools available. The ones listed in the chart below have been appearing frequently in our test servers, so they seem to be common to our location.

The “updated” date is the date that the local files available on this site were last updated (think of it like a version number). You should go directly to Symantec/Norton’s Website for the most current version of their removal tools, especially if it has been more than a few weeks since the tool was updated on this site.

<< Previous / Intro / Section 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 / Appendix A, B, C, D, E / Tools / Next >>