which is the best free virus removal software?

Question

I posted a question about winamp slowing down on my pc and was informed i have a virus of some sort. I have downloaded AVG but it hasn't found any worms or viruses, does anyone know of any other free anti virus programmes which will find this bug?

Answer 1

Yes, but are you sure its a virus?
Scan in Safe Mode using either AVG 7.5 free or Avast (don't use both); and then with Bitdefender.
Then 3 antispyware programs to check for spyware/trojans.
If they don't pick anything up its probably not a virus or trojan!

Before attempting to remove malware you must switch off System Restore as back up files will be hiding in there, and it will just restore itself. Go to Start - programs - accessories - system tools - system restore.
Run your anti virus and anti spyware in Safe Mode. To get into Safe Mode repeatedly press the F8 key after the bios screen loads but before Windows loads. You'll know if you made it because the screen will be at 800 x 600 and your pc will be slow.

Then beef up your security. Its easier to prevent malware getting on to your sytem in the first place rather than trying to remove it. All the following programs are free for personal use;

You need to install one firewall.
The Windows firewall doesn't stop malware on your pc from dialling out.
http://www.zonelabs.com Zone Alarm firewall
http://www.comodogroup.com/ - Comodo security suite.

You need to install one anti virus;
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ -AVG anti virus or
http://www.avast.com - Avast Antivirus

You need all three anti spyware programs;
http://www.ewido.net - AVG(Ewido) anti trojan.
http://www.lavasoft.com - Ad-Aware SE Personal anti adware
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search and Destroy anti spyware

And these are useful utilities;
Shields Up security site;
https://www.grc.com - check your firewall works
http://www.grc.com/optout.htm - grc anti spyware program and info.

http://www.mozilla.com/ Firefox web browser and Thunderbird e-mail program.
http://www.opera.com/ Opera web browser
Instal both these web browsers, turn off javascript on one and use that browser for vising unknown websites. They don't support Active X so thats one less way for problems to get on your pc.

http://spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm - The Spyware Warrior site identifies fake anti spyware programs.
http://www.ccleaner.com Cr*pcleaner Registry cleaner and privacy tool
Winpatrol is a handy utility that tracks cookies on your pc and stops unwanted changes to your startup folder.
http://www.winpatrol.com
Spywareblaster works with Internet Explorer and Firefox. It won't uninstall spyware that is already on your pc, but it will prevent hijacks and other malicious changes to your browser.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com
http://www.siteadvisor.com -MacAffee Site Advisor warns about malware on sites you are about to visit.
http://www.sys-shield.com - AbsoluteShield File Shredder
http://www.mailwasher.net/ -spam filter
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Lavasoft-ARIES-Rootkit-Remover.shtml - Aries Rootkit remover.
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Main/view/Download-Free-Products.html - Bitdefender doesn't run in the background and can be used as a second back up anti virus.

Remember to update and run all of you anti malware programs at least once a week.

Answer 2

Bear in mind there are three things you should have to protect your compuetr from viruses:

FIrst, a firewall. I use zonealarm, it's free and does a great job. This stops attacks getting through in the first place.

Second, Anti-Virus software, I use AVG FREE because although it's not as good as the "pay for" software, it's not very resource hungry, which is good if your running lots of applications or your machine is less than a 1GhZ.

Third, Anti-Spyware. Use Ad-aware from Lavasoft. It's recognised as the best free spyware software.

Don't get confused, Viruses and Spyware are different things. A Virus will normally shut your computer down by one way or another. Spyware will let your computer run like normal, but you'll start getting pop ups, or a new dialler will download and install. Over time, the computer will still work, but it'll get slower and slower.

All of this software is free and all you have to do is google it to find download locations.

Answer 3

Best Free Virus Remover

Answer 4

2

Answer 5

Try Avast:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
Go all the way to bottom of page and install it. Remember though to have only one anti-virus program at a time on computer as two or more will conflict with one another.

You may also want to try Housecall put out by Trend Micro which is a free on line scan:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

I do recommend though that you have an anti-virus program installed on the computer besides the Housecall.

Also Winamp may be slowing down due to other issues besides a virus. Go see if they have a newer installation:
http://www.winamp.com/player/free.php
I got the free basic bundle pack which is the slowest loading program I have but worth it. If you get the newest one uninstall the old before putting on the new one.

As a final note get Ccleaner. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

You can have the Ccleaner and the anti-virus program together on the computer. Just remember that the Ccleaner is not an anti-virus program so you will need the anti-virus program as well. Good luck!

PS: Ad-Aware SE Personal put out by Lavasoft is a good program but it is NOT an anti-virus program.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
I recommend it though with both the Ccleaner and Avast.

Answer 6

Best Free Virus Cleaner

Answer 7

I really don't think you can do much better than AVG. I've Used both McAfee and Norton in the past and now I swear by AVG!

Your problem could be something else. A lot of people don't realize how many programs they are running in the background. They could be slowing you down too. Look at the lower right hand portion of your screen. All those little icons indicate things that are running now. Likely you don't need all that. Right click and shut some down.

Beyond that, maybe it's spyware that's causing the problem. Get Spybot and Ad-aware and run those frequently. They are both free too.

Good luck.

Answer 8

I can give a few links that offer free virus and spyware removers...!You may be having a virus or spyware installed on your PC. Norton, AVG , Avast are free antivirus software. Ad-aware, Ewido are free spyware removers. You can download free softwares at
http://fixit.in/antivirus.html and http://fixit.in/spywareremover.html

Answer 9

In addition to AVG visit this site every so often for a free scan:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com

Also: Microsoft's own site for a free scan and tune up:

http://safety.live.com/site/en-US/default.htm

You can also download a free version of ewido anti-spyware from the same site you got AVG.

Answer 10

try going to www.free.grisoft.com and downloading AVG anti-virus free and AVG anti-spyware free. i use both these as spyware can act like a virus but not detectable with a virus scan then get yourselve a good firewall www.zonealarm.com and downlaod a free firewall again i have done this as i was have big problems, dont have them anymore.

Answer 11

As in other answers, Avast Anti-Virus, CCleaner (Cr@p Cleaner), Spyware Blaster
Also try Spywareguard which runs in the back ground,
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html
Also to clean I check with a2 (A Squared) from Emisoft, auto updates etc.
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/
Don't forget spybot!
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
Also this, but works best in safe mode, got a blighter the others didn't get..
http://www.incodesolutions.com/index2.html
XT version is for XP and above. (Worth buying)
Hope this helps...all the pages are homepages so you can read up on the programs.
Best of luck in getting rid of the bugs..
Pete.