Spyware and Adware Removal Tutorial

Before You Begin: As in all of my tutorials, if I ask you to type something, do not type the single quotes. Example: If I write ‘Help,’ you type Help. This tutorial assumes you are using Windows 2000, Windows NT, or Windows XP. You must also have administrative privileges. If you are unsure whether or not you have these privileges click Start >Run, type in ‘control userpasswords2,’ and click ‘OK.’ You will see your account listed under the ‘User Name’ column. If in the ‘Group’ column it lists ‘Administrators’ then you are okay (it may also list other things such as ‘Debugger Users,’ you can ignore this). You will need the following FREE software: Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal (Installed in default directory) Spybot â€" Search and Destroy (Installed in default directory) CWShredder â€" CoolWebSearch Trojan Remover (Placed on desktop) X-Cleaner (Installed in default directory) AIMFix (Placed on desktop) VundoFix (Placed on desktop) For more information about how to download and install these programs, visit johnmag4u.com/blog/category/software/ Step 1: Turn off your computer (if possible, do this properly by clicking Start > Turn Off Computer > Turn Off). Turn your computer back on and hit the ‘F8’ key on the keyboard every few seconds. You will be brought to a menu titled ‘Windows Advanced Options Menu.’ Using your keyboards up/down arrow keys, highlight ‘Safe Mode with Command Prompt.’ Press enter. Step 2: If you are normally required to log into Windows you will be asked to do so here. If not, you will go right to ‘Step 3.’ Step 3: When the computer finishes loading you will be left with a black screen which reads ‘C:Documents and SettingsUserName>.’ Type ‘cd C:Program FilesLavasoftAd-Aware SE Personal’ and press ‘Enter’. Type ‘Ad-Aware.exe’ and press ‘Enter’. In the bottom right corner of the new window, click ‘Start’. Make sure ‘Perform Smart System Scan’ is selected and a check mark is next to ‘Search for negligible risk entries’ and ‘Search for low-risk threats’. Click ‘Next’. In the top right corner of that window click the minimize button (this is the little button that looks like a line). You will be brought back to the black screen. Step 4: Type ‘cd C:Program FilesSpybot â€" Search and Destroy’ and press ‘Enter’. Type ‘SpybotSD.exe’ and press ‘Enter’. In the new window, click ‘Check for problems’. In the top right corner of that window click the minimize button (this is the little button that looks like a line). You will be brought back to the black screen. Step 5: Type ‘cd C:Documents and Settings’. Type ‘cd ’ (there is a space after the letter ‘d’). Press ‘Tab’ on your keyboard until you see your username displayed. Press ‘Enter’. Type ‘cd Desktop’. Press ‘Enter’. Type ‘AIMFix.exe’. Wait a few seconds and the program will ask you to press ‘Enter’. Do this. Step 6: Type ‘cwshredder.exe’. In the new window click ‘Fix’. The program will ask you if it could shut down any open windows, click ‘OK’. Wait about a minute until the program is done and click ‘Next’. Click ‘Exit’. You will be brought back to the black screen. Step 7: Type ‘VundoFix.exe’. Press ‘Enter’. In the new window, click ‘Scan for Vundo’. This process will take about 5 minutes. If the program doesn’t find any problems, it will alert you, click ‘Done’. If the program finds any problems they will be listed, click ‘Remove Vundo’. When it is done, it may close itself. Otherwise, click the ‘X’ in the top right corner of the windows. You will return to the black screen. Step 8: Type ‘cd C:Program FilesX-Cleaner’. Press ‘Enter’. Type ‘XCleaner_free.exe’. Click the ‘Select All’ button at the bottom of the new windows. Click ‘Start Cleaning!’. This process will take about five minutes during which you must stay at your computer. If this program finds a problem it will display an alert window. It is very possible this program will give you a false alarm. Review the details of the alert window. If it does not look like a program you, or someone else with authority, installed click ‘Remove It’. If it is something you want on your computer, click ‘Ignore’. When this process is finished a message will appear asking you to restart your computer, click ‘No’. Click the ‘Exit’ button in the bottom left corner. You will be brought back to the black screen. Step 9: Press and hold the ‘Alt’ key on your keyboard (some keyboards have multiple ‘Alt’ keys, pick any one of them). Press the ‘Tab’ key on your keyboard and release the ‘Alt’ key. Ad-Aware SE should be on the screen now. If it isn’t on the screen then press and hold the ‘Alt’ key on your keyboard press the ‘Tab’ twice key on your keyboard. Press ‘Next’ in the bottom right corner. You will see a list of items in the middle of the window, at least one of which will read ‘MRU List’. Right click any of these items (this means clicking an item with your right mouse button), and click ‘Select All Objects’. In the bottom right corner of the windows, click ‘Next’. You will be asked if you want to continue, click ‘Yes’. You will see a status bar on the screen, when it is done, click the ‘X’ in the top right corner of the window. Step 10: Press and hold the ‘Alt’ key on your keyboard and press the ‘Tab’ key on your keyboard. ‘Spybot â€" Search and Destroy’ should be on your screen. If it is not, repeat this process. At the bottom of the window it should read ‘# problems found’ if it does not then wait for the green bar to reach the end of the screen. If it says ‘0 problems found’ skip the next three sentences. Click ‘Fix selected problems’ at the top of the window. An alert will appear asking you if you want to continue, click ‘Yes’. When the process is done, click ‘OK’. Click the ‘X’ in the top right corner of the window. Step 11: Press and hold the ‘CTRL’ and ‘ALT’ keys on your keyboard. Your keyboard may have more then one of these keys, pick one of each. Press and release the ‘Delete’ or ‘Del’ key. Release the ‘CTRL’ and ‘ALT’ keys. In the new window, click ‘Shut Down’ and then click ‘Restart’. Your computer will turn off and reboot into windows like it normally does. Notes: Although this may not completely rid your computer problem(s) it should make a dramatic difference. If problems persist, you may want to contact a professional. Contact Author If you would like more information or wish to request a tutorial, feel free to visit johnmag4u.com/blog As a way to show that I am dedicated to my customers and the community, I am providing tons of free information. This includes do-it-yourself articles, links to free software, product reviews, and much more. John Magluilo, JohnMag4u johnmag4u.com/blog