VIRUS BLUES- HOW TO GET RID OF THEM IN 3 EASY STEPS

To the beginner or even the expert computer user, the biggest question is- “Is my computer infected by virus and whether or not I should go for an antivirus program?”. More often than not, it turns out that you buy a new computer or install a fresh copy of Windows, it runs smoothly for a few days, but then it starts hanging in the middle of some important work you were doing or shutting down automatically. You begin to wonder if your computer has been infected by a virus, buy an expensive antivirus solution, install it only to realize the computer has gotten even slower, until there is no option than to refer to a so-called expert or get that fresh copy of operating system.

Here is a step-by-step guide to the simplest solution of one of the most complex problems of our everyday life.

STEP 1: TO CHECK IF YOU ARE INFECTED BY A VIRUS/WORM

• Go to start menu -> Run. In the dialog box, enter “msconfig” (without the quotes). Select startup from the tabs at the top- Here is the list of all programs that start when you boot up the operating system. (You can deselect them all if you want)
• In case your computer has a virus infection, in most cases there will be a file with a random name making no sense. For Example- bbhryty.exe, poreujnt.exe (while trusted programs will have the name say HD Audio Drivers, Real Player, Adobe Reader). Try deselecting the file you suspect to be a virus.
• Restart, and recheck “msconfig” dialogue box, if the file has a check mark implying selection, there are high chances that it is indeed a virus. See the location of the file under “Command” inside the Startup tab of the dialogue box, and try manually deleting it. (Use Shift+delete). If you get “Access Denied”, be convinced that you are infected.
• Just to be sure, do one more thing. Press “Ctrl+Alt+Del” and start task manager, select processes tab there, and search for that exe file you suspect is a virus. Click on it and try to end process! If the program starts again only seconds later, you can be convinced you have a virus

STEP 2: AN ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM TO REMOVE INFECTION

• Install a lightweight, preferably free antivirus such as AVG, Avira or Panda Cloud Antivirus. (No need to spend big bucks on that expensive Norton or Kaspersky)
• Scan the file index and after the program finds viruses/worms, remove infections and Uninstall the Antivirus.
• WHY? Because, all modern day Antivirus programs use “Resident Scanning”, meaning they scan every file that is being processed, and this reduces the speed of your computer exponentially. (In some cases, Antivirus programs cause you more problems than the virus itself.)

STEP 3: SAFEGUARDING AGAINST FUTURE INVASIONS

• In Windows XP, Go to control panel, network connections, right click the connection you use to go online, select properties, and enable firewall (This glitch was solved in SP2. Nevertheless, be sure that firewall is active). For Windows-Seven users, it is recommendable to install a third-party firewall instead of installing an antivirus
• The most common mode of virus spread is external drives (remember, apart from pen drives, external hard disks, digital cameras, cell phones, PDAs, iPods- all are potential carriers of files infected with viruses, most notably the autorun.inf file)
• Use lightweight antivirus programs specifically designed for pen drives such as USB Drive Antivirus, which disable the execution of autorun.inf file to protect your computer. Always right click and explore the external drive in case you are skeptical that the external drive might be infected. (Win 7 users should not worry about this too much, since Microsoft has taken care of automatically executing files on external drives, but XP is still highly vulnerable)
• Do not arbitrarily download any file from the internet. Only download from trusted sources, use free-ware programs only once you are convinced about their reliability and do not be fooled by that “You have a virus” warning (It is actually the work of an Ad-Ware which in turn causes your system to be even slower). Moreover, most times that “keygen.exe” file has a virus, so keep caution.

After you have taken all the steps, you can be sure that a virus will be the least of your worries in your office, or at your home!

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