Coping with a virus out break
Utilize this tutorial in the case of a virus outbreak on one or more laptop or computer systems. Keep it handy so that you always know where it is and give some thought to circulating it to office personnel.
Be warned
You should be conscious that ShadowPro may not be held accountable for any kind of unfavorable results that are a result of using this guidance because all circumstances, attacks and computer systems are unique. By making use of these ideas you have to take 100 % responsibility for what happens, and when you do not really feel secure in your abilities, then please talk to a computer expert and pass the matter to them.
|ShadowPro IT won't be held accountable for any kind of adverse outcomes from following (or not following) this information. If you're not confident in your competencies please contemplate calling a computer expert.
If critical computer data is present or the machine is a server it's best to contact a professional in any case as a careful touch is needed-only continue if you are willing to accept the chance of loss of Any computer data on the machine. Symtoms
There are many possible symptoms of a malicious software infection some more noticeable than others, however there are common symptoms to try to look for.
· PC or server anti-virus program generates an alarm
· Computer system begins behaving "strangely", or becomes unreliable. Windows 7 and Vista have become dependable operating systems and components do not often simply stop working. If the strange behaviour is from an integral part of Windows suspect malware. If it's from an application it might still be malware, but could also be a malfunctioning application so try to install it again-nearly all viruses infect operating systemsrather than programs.
· Any of the following applications fail to load or cease working;
o Windows Task Manager (very common target of malevolent software)
o Anti-virus product (scans and up-dates both fail)
o Internet browser (stops working or directs to inappropriate websites)
o Shutdown or restart doesn't work.
· Software applications or internet sites show "popups" offering a product or service. Popups are a normal, if irritating part of the internet. Be particularly skeptical if you see popups indicating your computer is infected and to remove the infections with the help of your credit card details.
· A friend or contact lets you know that they've received emails from you that you did not send out.
· Another computer's antivirus pings an alert when media from your computer is inserted. USB devices, DVD's CD's, etc can easily all contain infections.
TIP Security products only give you so much protection - nowhere close to 100%, so malware can often slip past and sit on the hard drive.
First steps
To begin with consider the number of machines may be infected.
If it's just likely to be one you can follow these procedures on that computer by itself. In the event of numerous computers you will need to apply the steps to every single machine one after the other.
Step 1
· First off you need to try to update the anti-virus on the infected system.
o If viruses are located and also cleaned - no more actions should be required.
o If the concern came up due to a virus alert which eradicated the threat and nothing else is discovered-no more action is needed.
o If infections are located and also cleaned up and removed-no further action needed.
TIP If after a malware is deleted from a machine it subsequently starts exhibiting warning signs once again you must start the whole process once more, doing boot time scan if you can.
Step2
If your anti-virus locate a virus but cleaning fails.
· Follow the procedures suggested by your anti-virus application. Many solutions are able to guide you to information regarding removing of individual threats.
· You may have to search for the details by yourself. McAfee particularly have an extensive threat archive, that features techniques for removal.
TIP Avast antivirus costs nothing as well as excellent quality. Furthermore, it includes a boot time scan feature which can get rid of malware which may be hiding from it whilst Windows is operating.
Step3
If you are unable to discover the infection details or removal fails.
· You can get into Windows Safe Mode if you press F8 ahead of Windows launch (you have to be quick). A boot menu selection be shown and you need to choose Safe Mode (not command prompt).
· If Safe Mode loads ok you can try the steps once again and you might have more luck.
Step4
If you still cannot remove the virus.
· Start System Restore when in Safe Mode. This will very often start in Safe Mode when it wouldn't have within standard mode. This should reset Windows to day of your choosing, so pick a day right before things went wrong. Your data should really be safe however you ought to have it backed up regardless. Any application installed after the date selected will be deleted, together with any data saved within them (not very likely in recent times, although you can't say for sure)
Once running System Restore cannot be stopped.
· If System Restore completes successfully you must repeat each of the steps attempted previously. You have a good chance that the malware has been eliminated.
Step 5
If all the preceding methods be unsuccessful then you must make a choice
1. Do you carry on trying to remove the infection.
2. Do you Wipe the hard drive and load new copy of Windows?
If the hard disk drive is formatted and Windows reinstalled then your machine is 100% clean of infection because no malicious software could make it through this, only ensure your anti-virus is installed and updated right away.
It isn't always feasible to get rid of malevolent software and you could be wasting your time should you carry on, so at this point except when you have reasons to continue striving I'd advise that you reinstall Windows (after all important data has been saved)
TIP ALL data produced by or opened up on this machine needs to be viewed as infected until a clear scan returns from a non-affected machine.
TIP Any and all data that has been produced by or opened on this machine must be assumed infected. You'll want to scan all media that has been created or used since the infection began. DVD's and CD's ought to be safe unless they were created by the computer during the infected timetime.
The best of luck, and keep in mind that you can make a call for technical support anytime. If you note anything you have done and the names of any threats found or errors seen it can help your technical support guys immensely.
For even more publications or to get the best tech support team in Australia, computer repairs Gold Coast
Simon Lidster is a highly skilled IT professional with more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry. During his professional career, Simon has worked with companies including IBM (as well as an IBM business partner), a multi-national engineering company, and a large IT managed services company.
He has worked with technical support teams on PCs and servers, in addition to serving as an IT manager, and has experience with a wide spectrum of software and hardware platforms including Lotus Domino, VMware, MS Active Directory, Windows Server/Windows Desktop OS systems, data backup/recovery systems, VPN, firewalls, and TCP/IP systems.