Removal of Malware for Microsoft Windows XP thru 7

(If using a laptop make sure it is plugged in to an outlet. All of this can take a while)

You need a USB flash drive. A small flash drive of 256MB will probably do.

Download these following utilities and copy them to the USB flash drive

RKill

Malware Bytes

Ccleaner

1. Start the computer.

2. As soon as the BIOS screen disappears (that is the screen at the beginning of the boot up process that says things like press DEL or F2 to enter BIOS)

As soon as the BIOS screen disappears, start tapping the F8 key at the top of your keyboard. Tap it about as fast as you can count slowly.

If you start hitting the key too early, or too many times you will hear a frantic beeping sound. You may have to start over from the beginning at this point, but there is nothing wrong with your computer, you just filled up the ‘keyboard buffer’.

3. You may get a screen that asks you to select an operating system. Press F8 one more time to get to the Windows Advanced Options Menu.

4. You are given many options here. Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking are your only viable options. The other options are beyond the scope of this walk-thru.

If you think you will need network access, then choice Safe Mode with Networking. I personally choose this so I can update Malware Bytes when I install it.

Some malware that infects your computer displays more control over you system if you use Safe Mode with Networking. There are pros and cons to both options. If Safe Mode with Networking doesn’t work, then try regular Safe Mode the next time.

5. Highlight and choose Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking and press Enter

6. If asked to choose an Operating System choose the top choice and press Enter

7. If you have never done this before you are going to see things you’ve never seen. The operating system will boot by scrolling files across your screen. This is normal.

8. A pop-up box may appear telling you that you are now running in safe mode. Click YES.

9. Insert flash drive.

10. Copy the contents of the flash drive to the Desktop.

11. Double Click and run RKill from your desktop.

12 RKill will take some time. It will tell you when it is done. Don’t try to run anything else while RKill is running or it will shut it down.

13. When RKill is finished it will put up a text message stating the process it killed. If it is blank, this is a good thing.

14. Double Click and install Malware Bytes. Take all the default settings. Click Finish when done. If you are in Safe Mode with networking, it will update Malware bytes. This will give you the latest definitions to combat the malware. Click OK when database is updated. Decline the Trial.

15. Select ‘Perform full scan’ and click scan.

16. Select (by putting a checkmark in the boxes) the drives you want scanned. Most likely you will only need to choose the ‘C’ drive. Click Scan

17. This scan can take a long time. Hours even. Be patient.

18. When the scan is completed it will open a text file of the scan log. Close the file. If no items were found, then click ok and close malware bytes. If something was found follow the prompts to clean the computer. Very often Malware bytes will need to reboot. This is normal, but follow the steps above to re-enter safe mode again.

19. After the reboot (if applies) double click the ccsetup.exe file to install Ccleaner.

20. Follow the prompts. When it comes to the option of installing Google Chrome I recommend not installing it if you already have another browser besides Internet Explorer. If you don’t have a secondary Internet browser, install Google Chrome. It is not a bad browser.

21. After installing and opening Ccleaner. Select all the options you want on the main screen. If you choose to wipe Free Space, then know that this can take a very long time. Click ‘Run Cleaner’

22. When it is finished it will tell you how much space it freed up by removing temporary files. Click ‘Registry’ on the left. Click Scan for Issues.

23. When it is finished click Fix selected issues. When it asks to ‘back up’ the registry, that is up to you. In the years I have used ccleaner I have never backed up the registry and I have never had issues because of it. Your mileage may vary.

24. Click ‘Fix All Selected Issues’, then click close.

25. On the left click Tools. If you see any ‘known’ malware or tool bars in the add remove section, remove them. This will not only limit browsing issues, it will speed up your browser. If any ask you to reboot, say no. You can always reboot later.

26. Close Ccleaner.

27. Last but no least, open Internet Explorer.

28. From the file menu (Press your alt key if you don’t see the menu) select ‘Tools’ then ‘Internet Options’.

29. Click the Advanced tab at the far left of the pop up box.

30. Click Restore advanced settings. Click Apply.

31. Click the Reset button. You will get a warning that you are going to reset all Internet Explorer Settings. You may have to change some things back like your home page after this is over, but if Internet Explorer was working properly, you wouldn’t be reading this anyway, so by all means, Click ‘Reset’ again. This may take a few seconds. Click ‘Close’ when finished. Click ‘OK’ to the prompt telling you it will take effect the next time you open Internet Explorer.

32. Click ‘OK’ to close the dialog box and restart Internet Explorer.

If you still are having the same issues after following this guide, take your computer to a professional and let them fix it.

Backing up your Data :Updated 2 - 2 - 2012

I have uploaded the video of the class.

•Do you have one copy and only one copy of pictures of children, newborns, or special occasions onyour computer?

•Do you have only one copy of your mail archive?

•Do you have only one copy of that project you are working on?

•If you answered yes to any of these questions, this class and help you.

•It takes a lot ofmoney or time to back up your work or personal data.

This is not every back up option, but the easier options available.

There are backup options for online backup, ISP backups, Hard drive backups, flash drive and SD Card back ups, and even the old fashioned tape backups.

Here we will be discussing hard drive and flash drive back ups only.

Tools you'll need.

A flash drive or external hard drive with enough capacity to hold all your data.

They come in different shapes and sizes as well as different capacities.

You can purchase a flash drive (pictured above) with as little as 512MB of storage to as much as 128GB of storage. Obviously, the more capacity the drive holds the more expensive it it.

The other option is an external drive that also comes in all shapes, sizes, and capacities. Below is pictured a WD Passbook drive.

From this point forward I will refer to both the flash drives and external drives as 'personal drives'.

When you insert your personal drive into your USB port (illustration below)

You should get a pop-up window similar to this below.

Select Open folder to view files (highlighted option).

A window will open like the one above that will show you the contents of your personal drive.

All you need to do at this point is copy the files you want to back up to your personal drive.

If you double click your 'MY Computer' (Windows XP) icon or your 'Computer' (Windows Vista, 7) icon, you will see files to copy to the personal drive.

Windows 7 calls the location that holds your personal data 'Libraries', Window XP puts them under 'Files on your Computer', but you can just click on 'My Documents'.

Now with both windows open, the window showing your personal drive and the window showing your documents you want to copy, right-mouse-click on the task bar.

You should see the above menu. Select 'Show windows stacked' or 'Show windows side by side'. Either one, it doesn't matter, whatever you preference is. This way you'll see both windows together so you can just 'drag and drop' files.

Highlight and Drag your files from one window to another.

That's it, once the files are done copying, you have successfully backed-up your data. Now store the personal drive in a secure location!