How to effectively wipe all viruses from your computer FREE!

Firsty, I just want to apologise for my lack of hubs in the last few months. I've had a lot of college work to do and can only write in my free time, which isn't much.

So you've clicked here because you want to know an effective way to remove viruses/spy-ware etc from your computer. GREAT.
Let me tell you why I chose to write this hub. Recently, my girlfriend was exposed to the famous "Strathclyde Police" virus scam. Basically, a pop up revealed itself every time she turned on her laptop telling her that violent/illegal media was found on her Laptop and the police has locked her laptop and if she wanted it unlocked, she had to pay £100. She couldn't close it and she got worried. She gave me a phone and we done some research and basically we got rid of it. That and the other 100 odd viruses on her laptop. Here, i'm going to tell you how we done it and hopefully it will be as effective for you as it was for us.

In this hub I will split up the sections into easy to understand paragraphs noting what you'll need and how to use them. So, I hope you enjoy.

Okay, you'll need a few programs which you may or may not have heard of. There is much debate over the effectiveness of different virus scanners etc so I will list the one's I have used and provide a link where to find them.

(If you are unsure which program to use, feel free to research yourself the Pro's and Con's for each of the following)

Anti-Viruses:

Avast! Anti-Virus - I have used Avast! for a while now and it has always been great. What I really like about it is that the definitions are updated automatically when you are online, so you should always have the most up-to-date version of the software. This is good because as time goes on, viruses are being made and manipulated to cause damage, so having the latest definitions give you the best chance of catching them.

Link: http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html?tag=mncol;1

OR

Avira Anti-Virus - Again, I have used this one too for a while and it's also always been a good one to use. This one I use on my laptop, and it does well to find anything that may be lurking. This one does not update automatically however, there is a button on the interface saying "update" which when you click updates the definitions.

Link: http://download.cnet.com/Avira-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10322935.html?tag=mncol;1

OR

AVG Anti-Virus - Pretty much known as the king of free anti-virus scanners. the most popular and I'm pretty sure the most downloaded thing on Download.com with around 1 Millions downloads per week and that's just from download.com alone. It isn't my personal favourite but it's an epic program.

Link: http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition-2012/3000-2239_4-10320142.html?tag=rb_content;main

**PLEASE NOTE - RUNNING TWO ANTIVIRUSES CAN CAUSE CONFLICT AND WILL USUALLY STOP YOUR ANTIVIRUS FINDING ANY MALICIOUS SOFTWARE. ONLY USE ONE (PREFERABLY ONE OF THE ABOVE)**

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Next, we will move onto Malware/spyware removal.

Malware/Spyware Removal:

It is worth noting here that Malware, unlike anti-viruses do not conflict so I advise you download at least two of the following:

Malwarebytes - Widely regarded as one of the most effectively programs for malware removal is Malwarebytes and I must agree. It is extremely effective in the removal of harmful malware and it's one I highly recommend.

Link: http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html

SuperAntiSpyware - I used this for the first time ever on last week and I was extremely impressed. Using this and Malwarebytes were the two programs that cleaned my girlfriends computer really well and I would certainly download this too.

Link: http://download.cnet.com/SuperAntiSpyware-Free-Edition/3000-8022_4-10523889.html?tag=mncol;2

Ad-aware - Again probably classed at one of the best malware removal tools out there. I use this one on my PC and Malwarebytes on my laptop. Personally, I feel more comfortable with Malwarebytes scanning but there is no doubt this shows accurate results.

Link: http://download.cnet.com/Ad-Aware-Free-Internet-Security/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?tag=mncol;1

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Other Useful Programs

Rkill - Again this is another tool which I just started using recently and I feel a lot safer when I use it. Basically, kills known any processes that stop the use of our normal anti-malware applications. (Please, do not download until told to in steps below - for reasons which i'll explain later)

So basically, this is what you should use:

• 1 Anti-Virus Scanner (Avast! would be my personal choice)
• 2 Maleware removal programs (Malwarebytes & SuperAntiSpyware would be my choice)
• Rkill.

***PLEASE READ WHOLE PARAGRAPH BEFORE CONTINUING***

So, hopefully, you've understood what you need and what you are going to use.
For the step by step i'm going to be using Avira Anti-Virus, Malwarebytes, SuperAntiSpyware and Rkill purely because it's what I used last week. Also note, this process may take a good few hours (depending on how many files you have etc) so be sure you have the time to do this.
so lets get started.

Step 1 - Start by running a virus scan (Avira Anti-Virus) and make sure you do a deep full system scan, which will be an option when opening your Virus Scanner. This may take a while so, find something to do while you wait. I recommend not using the computer during any of these scans as it may slow it down.

Step 2 - When the scan has completed, if it has found anything, move it to quarantine, then delete from your computer. The virus scanner should walk you through this, if not just use it's help facility which will be built into the program (usually located at the top bar where it says "file", "view" etc etc).

Step 3 - After your virus scan, you're going to want to run a Malware scan. So open Malwarebytes and again, do a deep system scan of your computer. Again these scans may take a good while. Like with the scanner, if it finds anything it should give you the option to fix them, do it.

Step 4 - This step is completely optional. Just to be thorough, I usually like to run my other malware scanner, SuperAntiSpyware, and again just do the same as before, deep system scan and let it do it's work. And again, if you find anything, there will be a button to fix, do it.

So, now we have run a pretty decent and thorough virus and malware scan. If you like you are able to leave if there if you feel the problem has been rectified, however, for some you will maybe still be infected so here comes the second part of the step by step to run your computer of any other nasties. For those who aren't computer savvy, i'll explain this as best as possible...

Step 5 - Turn off your computer.

Step 6 - Turn your computer back on and keep pressing F8. It will be located at the top of your keyboard. A black window window will appear with writing.

Step 7 - Depending on which Operating system you are using, the layout may be different but you are looking for the same thing. Somewhere on the page you will see "Safe Mode with Networking". Use the arrow keys to highlight this and press enter.

Step 8 - When the computer boots the Safe mode, your screen will be black, it will say safe mode in the corners and your icons will most likely be huge. Welcome to Safe Mode.

Step 9 - Due to it being Safe Mode with networking you will be able to access the Internet. So open your browser (I use FireFox, but some may use Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari or Opera)

Step 10 - Remember Rkill? I told you not to download it. Well now is the time to download it. So head over to Download.com and search for Rkill and download it (or here is the link if you want to type it out: http://download.cnet.com/RKill/3000-8022_4-75221743.html)
It is important to know that after downloading Rkill, it does not install onto your computer, it automatically opens. Once you have downloaded, give it a second and a black box should appear called you CMD (Command Prompt). At the bottom of the Black box you should see it says something like "preparing Rkill". Leave this for a few minutes and when it's done you will see a notepad document open, which will give you information about what the program done. Just close it. Rkill has done it's job.

Step 11 - It's time to run your Malware scanner again. So open Malwarebytes and again run the deep system scan and see if it finds anything, if it does, again fix them.

Step 12 - When that's done, you might be asked to restart your computer, do it. If not, do it manually.

Step 13 - Again ad the computer starts to boot up, keep pressing F8 again until you see "Safe Mode with Networking" again, click enter and let that boot up again.

Step 14 - Remember I said Rkill doesn't install onto your computer, well it means you will have to either download it again or find your downloads menu on your browser (in FireFox it is Tools > Downloads). If you can find your downloads then you just have to double click on Rkill again and repeat the bold part of step 10.

Step 15 - So now Rkill has done it's job again, you have closed the notepad document down, it's time to run your OTHER malware scanner, which in my case was, SuperAntiSpyware.

Step 16 - Again, a deep system scan for that let it try and find anything, if it does, get it fixed and get those nasty malware away.

Step 17 - Again, you may or may not be prompted to restart your computer. Let it boot back up as normal (without pressing F8) and you should be back to your regular desktop.

Step 18 - Another optional step. You can rescan with your virus scanner or malware scanner to to make sure there is nothing there.

Step 19 - Sit back and relax, you're computer (Hopefully) is virus free.

Computer running poorly? Try these out too. Clean your registry and applications:

CCleaner - http://download.cnet.com/ccleaner/?tag=mncol;1

Registry Repair - http://download.cnet.com/Free-Window-Registry-Repair/3000-2086_4-10606555.html

Revo Uninstaller - http://download.cnet.com/Revo-Uninstaller/3000-2096_4-10687648.html?tag=mncol;1

Make sure your drivers are up to date with this free tool:

SlimDrivers - http://download.cnet.com/SlimDrivers-Free/3000-18513_4-75279940.html?tag=mncol;1