is there any free virus scanner on line to kill vius and clean my pcto make it run better and faster?

Question

is there a free way online i can kill virus on my pc

Answer 1

If your Windows is more recent than Win2000, you ought to first try Microsoft's own free Malicious Software Removal Tool (go to http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx). Next, you might consider downloading their Windows Defender. Although this is a beta (i.e., not the final release), I haven't heard of any nightmares with it such as with some of their uninstallable IE betas, and it has more than 25 million users. It is also free, at http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx.

Microsoft, in its knowledge base article 913505, lists 6 different 3rd party online sites where you can get free virus AND spyware scans. (At least some of these online scans are still good if you have an earlier Windows, but note that IT companies are rapidly removing their support for the Windows 9x systems.)

http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan.htm
http://housecall.trendmicro.com
http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp
http://virusscan.jotti.org
http://www.spywareguide.com/onlinescan.php
http://pestpatrol.com/prescan.htm

Please note that if you try to find such sites or programs using a search engine and start guessing as to which one to use, you might end up getting an "anti" program which is itself spyware. If I were you, I would try one on the list. Even if you ran Microsoft's own programs first, it pays to try one of the free ones also: no one program is perfect, especially when it comes to cleaning spyware.

It is quite possible that your infection might prevent you from using any of these tools; the people who create malware are quite aware that you will try to get rid of it when you discover it, and they may include code that keeps you from getting to the sites above and/or installing the program you need to help you.

In the worst cases, you might have to reinstall Windows. Before going to any extreme, though, you ought to consult the professionals: Microsoft itself offers "No-Charge Support" at 1-866-PCSAFETY (1-866-727-2338) on security-related issues.

Adaware and Spybot are both wonderful programs, and I have used them both for some time, but they are not 100% effective (nor is Windows Defender): see PCWorld's most recent comparison of different antispyware products at http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,122496,pg,6,00.asp.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

Online or download? For downloads, I recommend Windows Defender, a spyware program created by Microsoft, if you are running Windows. If you run Macintosh, good luck, I don't know a thing about Macintosh anti-virus programs, listen to the other answerers.

EDIT: I guess SpyBot and Ad-Aware are a good team too...

EDIT2: I just noticed something. Get the Spybot/Adaware team first, becuase Defender is still in its Beta2 version.

Answer 5

For anti-virus use AVG at grisoft.com (You may have to hunt a little to find the free download as they like to move it around)

Then install and run both Ad-aware from lavasoft.com and Spybot Seek and Destory from download.com. They will clean any spyware off the machine. They go to microsoft.com and download Defender. It will help to prevent future spyware infections.

Finally, click on the start button
Select Run
Type in: msconfig
In the window that appears select the startup tab
You will see a list of the non-essential programs that are being loaded when you start you PC
Uncheck any of them that you do not have to have loaded at startup. (Most people can turn them all off). This will greatly speed up your boot up and making most things run faster.
If you find you really need one of those items to load, you just go back and recheck it.

Answer 6

spy-bot search & destroy & ad-aware. Both can be found in the tech folder on an AOL disk or by downloading from their websites here:
http://www.spybot.com
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
(this site is down for maintainence for the moment check back in a few hours)
If you have already downloaded any other "free" virus or spyware removal tools uninstall before you start with spybot & ad-aware.