Cleaning your computer from malware. The best malware removal utilities

The fact is that malware– these are not viruses in the usual sense of this word. These are small utilities that climb into your computer without asking and install any kind of infection or show unwanted advertisements. And there are 2 problems here:

Antiviruses do not see malware because they do not consider them viruses.
These threats are very difficult to remove.

But it is still possible. After all, there is special software with which you can find and remove malware. And below we will consider 8 excellent utilities designed to remove such advertising viruses.

It’s worth noting right away that Windows 10 already has a malware removal tool by default. Yes, it may not be as effective at cleaning Malware and Adware viruses as other utilities, but it’s still worth a try. Fortunately, you don’t need to download or install anything - everything is already installed and configured.

As a rule, this software starts automatically, but if necessary, you can start it manually. It is located here: C:\Windows\System32\MRT.exe.

Finding and removing malware is simple - you just need to click the “Next” button. But the verification itself takes a very long time, so it will take some time.

The main advantage of this software is that it will 100% not harm your PC or laptop (but only if Windows 10 is licensed). Another plus: you can download it for Windows 7 and 8 at. website ().

AdwCleaner utility

AdwCleaner is very effective in combating:

pop-ups in the browser;
opening advertising pages in a new tab;
changing the home page in the browser and the inability to change it.

Its main advantages:

free;
constantly updated;
gives really practical advice on how to prevent your PC or laptop from becoming infected in the future (after analyzing and cleaning the PC).

Using the utility is extremely simple:

Launch it and click "Scan".
See what threats she was able to detect on the computer (you can remove the birds from unnecessary items).
Click Cleanup.

While the program is running, you will need to restart your PC in order to completely remove ad viruses and other infections. And when cleaning the computer is complete, a detailed report will appear of what was deleted.

By the way, recently AdwCleaner received Windows support 10, so it can be safely installed on any operating system.

Today, some malicious utilities can impersonate AdwCleaner. Therefore, if you download it from a third-party site, be sure to check for viruses on virustotal.

Anti-Malware Free

Another excellent utility that can be used to clean your computer from malware is Anti-Malware. Very popular among users today.

Its main advantages:

reliable computer protection against malware (easily detects webalta and other common threats on PCs);
effective removal;
presence of Russian language.

It is also completely free (there are also paid version, but the first one is more than enough).

For me, checking for malware takes a little too long. But that's just my opinion. Yet this utility It’s not for nothing that it’s considered one of the most popular.

Zemana AntiMalware

It is also worth paying attention to Zemana AntiMalware. This is another good malware cleaning utility.

Main advantages:

effective search (often finds advertising viruses that the previous 2 utilities do not see);
scanning separate files to choose from;
PC protection in real-time mode.

In addition, it has one very useful option - checking for malware in the browser and removing it. Since pop-ups most often appear for this very reason, this makes this utility one of the best.

Among the disadvantages are 15 days of free use and the need to connect to the Internet. But since such malware removal tools are used only occasionally, the first drawback is considered insignificant.

Junkware Removal Tool

Another great free threat scanning utility.

Main advantages:

works with ad viruses, browser extensions, etc.;
it automatically deletes detected threats in folders, shortcuts, processes and any browsers (before this it creates a checkpoint for recovery);
generates a report after the operation is completed.

HitmanPRO program

HitmanPro is software that can also be used to find and uninstall malware.

Main advantages:

fast work;
effective search: sees many threats, and even those that have already been removed (traces of them usually remain);
does not need installation.

It is paid, but there is a 30-day free period. This is more than enough to check your PC for malware.

Malicious Software Removal Tool

Also on this list there is another software from Microsoft that does not require installation and is suitable for Windows 7 and 8. You can download it.

Using the program is easy. Turn it on, click Next and wait for the report.

Spybot utility

And the last one free program to remove viruses from your computer – Spybot.

Its main advantages:

wide functionality;
can track newly installed software and changes made to the Windows registry and files;
is able to roll back changes in case of failures in the PC after removing viruses.

The article will tell you how to remove viruses and Trojans from your computer.

Navigation

Detecting viruses or Trojans on your computer is not so easy. Today, hackers are thinking of more and more new options for how to sneak into your computer and do their dirty deed.

There are also many difficulties when scanning an infected PC, because a large number of identified problems are related to problems with the software or the hardware itself. But nevertheless, we can list several ways to more or less accurately determine that a computer is infected with viruses:

A notification pops up: “ Internet Explorer can't display the page", for example, when you want to visit a website.
The browser slows down, does not respond to commands for a long time, and freezes
The home page in the browser constantly changes without your participation
Access to official download sites is blocked antivirus programs and other safe content.
The browser goes to a different site than the user intended to go to.
Foreign messages that are not related to the browser itself constantly pop up in the browser
A toolbar that does not belong to this browser is detected at the top of the browser
The computer starts to work more slowly than before
The computer slows down a lot or freezes for a long time
Unknown icons suddenly appear on the desktop
The computer turns off or restarts on its own without user intervention
Notifications pop up about the absence or damage of certain system files
The user cannot log in command line, task manager, control panel, registry editor.

In today's review, we will discuss in detail how to remove viruses and Trojans on your computer using various antivirus programs. If you have the problems described above, then immediately follow our guide to protect your computer from unwanted consequences.

How to find and remove Trojans, viruses, worms, rootkits and other harmful objects on your computer?

Before you start working with any antivirus program, we want to draw your attention to one important fact. The fact is that many viruses are capable of blocking the launch of an antivirus and scanner when you log into the operating system in the usual way.

Therefore, if this happens in your case, then go to the OS in safe mode, use download network drivers and then proceed with the scanning process.

Below we provide a number of antivirus programs and instructions for scanning and neutralizing your computer.

There are viruses that are able to protect themselves well, for which they use so-called rootkits. These rootkits, in turn, can download before you even log into your desktop. Therefore, removing rootkits is a top priority. For this we will use a scanner " Kaspersky TDSSKiller»:

Go to follow this link and download " Kaspersky TDSSKiller»
Launch the scanner by double-clicking on the downloaded file. A program window will open, where you need to go to the “ Change settings».

Scan and neutralize your computer using Kaspersky TDSSKiller

Next, check the box next to “ Detect TDLFS file system", Press " OK».

Scan and neutralize your computer using Kaspersky TDSSKiller

After this, the original window will open. Press " Start checking»

Scan and neutralize your computer using Kaspersky TDSSKiller

Wait while the antivirus scans your computer for infection

Scan and neutralize your computer using Kaspersky TDSSKiller

Once the scan is completed, a new window will open with a message about the presence or absence of malware on your computer. The screenshot below shows what the window will look like if viruses were found. To remove them, click on " Continue».

Scan and neutralize your computer using Kaspersky TDSSKiller

With help " RKill"You can stop malware from running on your computer. This will help you in the future, using another antivirus, scan your computer and remove viruses that can no longer resist such a process. The specified program itself is not intended for removing viruses. Therefore, please note that after “ RKill” will complete its work, do not restart the computer, as the “muffled” viruses will begin to operate again.

Do the following:

Download " RKill" by this link and run the utility
Wait while the program scans your computer, checking for active malicious processes. If it detects any, it will automatically terminate their work without your participation.

Stopping malware with RKill

As a result, you will see the window shown in the screenshot. There will be a report here. We remind you that you cannot restart your computer after this. Now you should proceed to the next step, which we will describe below.

Stopping malware with RKill

« Malwarebytes"is a fairly good antivirus that can find and neutralize a large number of viruses, rootkits, Trojans, worms and many similar malicious programs. To work with it, do the following:

Download the program from this link and install it (just follow the installation instructions).
When the program is installed, the window shown in the screenshot will open. Check the boxes exactly as suggested. Then click on " Complete».