Uninstall Malicious or Unneccessary Programs

A good start in cleaning your computer of nuisance or malicious software is to first remove suspicious programs.

• Go to the start menu, search for and open 'Uninstall a Program'
• Go through the list of programs uninstalling those that are suspicious such as
• Toolbars
• Search 'Helpers'
• Installers/Uninstallers

You can also use PCDecrapifier or similar programs to try and help you automate the removal, but in practice doing it manually is the best way.

Clear Temporary Data

Malicious programs often hide out in user and temporary directories to evade detection or removal. You should use a program such as CCleaner or Bleachbit.

Scan and Remove Malware

• Run Malwarebytes
• Update the virus database
• Run a scan
• Click 'Show Results', this brings up a list of malware, adware and viruses found
• Right click on the list and select 'Check All Items'
• Click 'Remove Items'

Reset Browser Settings

Malware often redirects your default search engine or installs various tracking plugins to your browser, to get rid of these try resetting your browser.

• For Internet Explorer
  • Open Settings in Internet Explorer
  • Click on 'Internet Options'
  • Go to the 'Advanced Tab'
  • Click the 'Reset' Button
• For Chrome
  • Open Settings in Chrome
  • Click on 'Show Advanced Settings'
  • Scroll down to the bottom
  • Click the 'Reset Browser Settings' Button
• For Firefox
  • Open Help->Troubleshooting Information from the Firefox menu. In newer version of Firefox you may need to enter the address "about:support" into the location bar instead.
  • Click on 'Reset Firefox'