El Bloggo de Josho

Everyone is fully capable of de-virusing, de-spywareing and de-slowing their computer for free.  Here are my favorite methods to do just that.

Step 1: Download this Software

AVG – My favorite free virus scan software to leave running all the time.  Replaces Norton, McAfee, etc.  Use the free version.

CCleaner – The best tool to clean crap from your computer.  This will also repair your registry, and uninstall programs.  Click the link at the top-right that says “Download Latest Version”.

Malewarebytes – One of the best malware (spyware, adware, etc.) scanners I have found.  Don’t pay, use the free version.

DiskTrix Defrag Utility – My favorite free defrag utility.   Don’t pay for this, use the free version.

Ad-Aware – A popular anti ad-ware and spy-ware utility.  Choose the free version.

Spybot Search and Destory – Another good anti ad-ware utility.  Pick a download site, and download it.

Step 2: CCleaner

1. Disconnect from the internet.
2. Install CCleaner from the file you just downloaded.  Uncheck the “Yahoo Toolbar” option during installation.  You don’t want that bastard.
3. Run CCleaner.  From the main interface, click “Cleaner”, then “Run Cleaner”  This will clean all of the crap off of your computer.  (Crap-Cleaner…get it?)
4. Once it is done, click “Registry”.  Click “Scan for Issues”, then “Fix Selected Problems”.  Fix everything.
5. Finally, click “Tools”, select your virus scan (Norton, McAfee, etc.) and click “Run Uninstaller”.  This will free you from your old crappy virus scan.

Step 3: Antivirus

1. Now that the old anti-virus is gone, close CCleaner and install AVG from the file you downloaded.  It should install smoothly.  Let it update,  and do it’s thing.
2. Start it on a full system scan by clicking on “Computer Scanner”, then on “Scan Whole Computer”.
3. It will take longer, but you should slide the little slider to the left for a “Slow Scan” at least for the first time through.
4. Once it either finds or doesn’t find something, deal with it accordingly (Quarantine, delete, etc.)

Step 4: MalewareBytes

1. Re-connect to the internet now that you have scanned your computer, and have a virus-scan running.
2. Install MalewareBytes with the file that you downloaded.  It should try to update automatically, and then finish installing.
3. Under the “Scanner” tab, you should select “Perform a full system scan”
4. Select your hard drive, and click start.  This also may take awhile, but it is worth it.  Let it delete / remove all of the threats it finds.

Step 5: Ad-Aware

1. Essentially follow the same steps as Step 4.
2. Install, let it update, then scan your whole system.  It may look different, but it will work about the same way.  Just look around for the correct buttons.  These programs are pretty automated.
3. Delete the problems that it finds, and close.

Step 6: Spybot Search and Destroy

1. Same thing, once again.
2. Install, update, scan, remove anything it finds.

Step 7 (Optional): Remove the programs.

1. If you want, open CCleaner now, and uninstall Ad-Aware, Spybot, and MalewareBytes.  This is up to you.  I like to keep my computer clean, so I uninstall these programs after I use them, except for AVG and CCleaner.

Step 8: Defrag

1. Install Disktrix from the file that you downloaded.
2. Run Disktrix.  Accept all the instances where it says that this is only a trial.  We only need to run it once.
3. You will see all of the buttons to control the program along the left side.  First click the option “Auto” to select how it will organize your drive.  Then click “Start” toward the middle.  It will re-organize your hard drive, and take some amount of time.
4. If you have two hard drives, then use the program on each of them.
5. Use CCleaner to uninstall the program when you are finished.
6. You may want to keep all of the files you downloaded so that you can re-install the programs (if you uninstalled them) when/if you need them again.

If you still didn’t get your computer issue solved, you may have either a more serious virus (rootkit, etc.), or the problem is caused by something else.  If this is the case, I recommend Google.  You can always email me if you want, and I could offer some suggestions.