YIKES......our computer has a virus!!!!

[Disneyfied4]

Does nayone know of a reliable FREE malware website to get rid of this virus. We just don't know which websites are good. TIA!

 

[Marionnette]

Does nayone know of a reliable FREE malware website to get rid of this virus. We just don't know which websites are good. TIA!

You usually get what you pay for when you use free software. Did you have an antivirus program like norton or mcafee? If so, then you can contact there support team for help. Otherwise, run hijackthis (free) and post the results on a tech board like techimo.com. You need to have some confidence in your ability with a computer if you choose this route.

 

[dawson5]

wow. I have been running AVG free for years and haven't had a trojan.

You are probably going to have issues getting to a site to download because the trojan probably won't let you get there, download it or install it. You might have to download on another computer, transfer via a disc or flash drive, and maybe even rename it before installing it.


Do you know what you have? A lot of people on here like that Microsoft Security Essentials. Might be worth a shot. Probably best to clear off what you have on your pc and just do a clean install, with a good anti-virus that is updated frequently. Avast (free) gets good recommendations, along with AVG and MSE, all are free (Avast and AVG do offer paid ones, but usually offer some things that really aren't needed).


*I have had things show in my scanned logs, they have not effected my computer. Things that I thought were a virus that might have gotten through, end up being something my son(s) have done. The oldest is in a computer programming class and regularly writes code/programs on my pc. I get warnings that this is on my pc all of the time, they are not malicious.

 

[bomzar]

AVG free edition and Malwarebytes are two of the best ones out there and they're both free! Spybot Search and Destroy is also really good.

 

[dfchelbay]

Microsoft Security Essentials. Download it from the Microsoft website.

 

[Disneyfied4]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I am not the computer person in the house. The virus is HDD Plus. We have trend micro antivirus software but the virus obviously got around it. Ughhhhh! My husband is going to try and remove it. Thanks again.

 

[LilyWDW]

You usually get what you pay for when you use free software. Did you have an antivirus program like norton or mcafee? If so, then you can contact there support team for help. Otherwise, run hijackthis (free) and post the results on a tech board like techimo.com. You need to have some confidence in your ability with a computer if you choose this route.

I would NEVER pay for antivirus. Norton and McAfee are rip offs. There are plenty of free antiviruses and the like that work better and are updated better. I know no one that would pay for this and that includes programmers, builders, and gamers.

OP, I would suggest AVG, Avast!, or Microsoft Security. All three are free and god programs. I personally use Avast! and the boyfriend uses Microsoft, but I would use any of these three if I had to.

 

[IUTBAM]

Another vote for MS Security Essentials. Super easy to download, and use, and it'll take care of the problem.

 

[crazelion]

All free Avast, Malwarebytesaantiware, SuperAntispyware, Spybot Searchanddestory.

Then all else than bring out the heavy duty stuff progamm call hihackedthis. I would only use this program if understand what doing with computers.

 

[elgerber]

I would NEVER pay for antivirus. Norton and McAfee are rip offs. There are plenty of free antiviruses and the like that work better and are updated better. I know no one that would pay for this and that includes programmers, builders, and gamers.

OP, I would suggest AVG, Avast!, or Microsoft Security. All three are free and god programs. I personally use Avast! and the boyfriend uses Microsoft, but I would use any of these three if I had to.

Agreed. I got a nasty virus while running Norton. Ran a scan, Norton found nothing. After much doing I was able to get to one of the free sights and was able to download a free virus program, which found it and fixed it!

 

[LilyWDW]

Agreed. I got a nasty virus while running Norton. Ran a scan, Norton found nothing. After much doing I was able to get to one of the free sights and was able to download a free virus program, which found it and fixed it!

Honestly, I have found free to share and open source programs some of the best out there in general. They are usually more user friendly, updated more often, and the ideas of the consumer are taken more seriously.

 

[JB2K]

I have been a McAfee user for many years -- and no problems!

However, if you are buying the physical software, you will do much better with Amazon.com's pricing as opposed to that of a traditional retail store...

 

[Corbisblue]

I vote for AVG. I've been using it for years and I've never had a virus or anything terrible happen to my PC.

 

[bonoriffic]

You usually get what you pay for when you use free software.

Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG, and Avast are among the best reviewed and rated programs and are all free. Paying for anti-virus for a home use situation is insane.

I personally prefer Microsoft Security Essentials as it is basically invisible once running and uses almost no resources. I'd rate Avast as 2nd best as they require a yearly email renewal to work and by default has some crazy sounds enabled that will scare the heck out of you the first time it goes off.

 

[WeCantWait]

I have had luck with Malwarebytes.

 

[LilyWDW]

Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG, and Avast are among the best reviewed and rated programs and are all free. Paying for anti-virus for a home use situation is insane.

I personally prefer Microsoft Security Essentials as it is basically invisible once running and uses almost no resources. I'd rate Avast as 2nd best as they require a yearly email renewal to work and by default has some crazy sounds enabled that will scare the heck out of you the first time it goes off.

Like the woman's voice saying "Your Virus Database has been updated!"... which always happens when I forget to lower the volume on the computer after listening to music?

It's like it KNOWS when to update and never does it when I have the volume turned off.

And I don't recall ever getting a email to renew and have never had it not work... And all I have used is Avast! since about 2002ish.

 

[sam_gordon]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I am not the computer person in the house. The virus is HDD Plus. We have trend micro antivirus software but the virus obviously got around it. Ughhhhh! My husband is going to try and remove it. Thanks again.

So how did you find out about the virus? If you're simply following a popup saying 'your computer has a virus, click here to get rid of it', THAT'S likely what installed it.

Stick with one of the programs mentioned here. We use Trendmicro at work... they have an online scanner. I use AVG at home. No matter which program you end up, make sure the updates get done along with periodic scans.

 

[bonoriffic]

Like the woman's voice saying "Your Virus Database has been updated!"... which always happens when I forget to lower the volume on the computer after listening to music?

It's like it KNOWS when to update and never does it when I have the volume turned off.

And I don't recall ever getting a email to renew and have never had it not work... And all I have used is Avast! since about 2002ish.

You can turn off the sounds, and you should as it is just so darn loud. You need to register Avast every year or it will stop updating after 60 days.
http://www.avast.com/registration-free-antivirus.php

The registration, which is easy but annoying, and the stupid sound effects and system tray icons is why I switched to Microsoft and never looked back.

 

[pixiewings71]

I've had Norton & McAfee, both were terrible and we had loads of viruses when we had either of those installed. Now on the desktop & DD14's old laptop we have AVG free, it's GREAT, haven't had any issues in a long time. On the new laptop and netbook we have Kapersky, it's been great too.

 

[brennicksmom]

AVG free edition and Malwarebytes are two of the best ones out there and they're both free! Spybot Search and Destroy is also really good.

We use Spybot Search and Destroy. We have for years, we didn't have it on my computer and over the weekemd my 8 year old said, "Mom, the computer just said it was in danger so I clicked yes" Well it was some kind of Think? program and it locked up everything! 5 hours later we finally got the internet back up and search and destroy did its job!