DIY How To Remove a Virus, Spyware or Trojan Horse Virus.

September 15th, 2010

Windows based PCs are notoriously susceptible to Trojan Viruses and Spyware infections.  This can be caused by a number of different factors but making sure that your system is fully updated at Microsoft’s update site is one of the best ways of preventing problems.  You can verify that your system is completely up to date by visiting Microsoft’s update site:

http://www.update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us. 

This guide explains in detail how to get rid of a Trojan Virus or Remove Trojan Horse infections from your computer system.

If you suspect that your computer system may have become infected with a Virus or Trojan Horse Virus, this guide will step you through the process of downloading, installing and configuring a free version of anti-virus / anti-spyware software on your computer system.

Many good free Virus Removal Software titles are available online today that are quite effective in eradicating most Trojan Virus infections.  AVG Free is one that I have tried and have had good success in using.  The free version that is available to download online will delete Spyware, get rid of Trojan Viruses, and perform a Malware scan as well.  It is a great Spyware Removal Tool that I highly recommend.

You can find the AVG web-site here: http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage

On the website you will find the option to either download the free version or a more advanced version for a fee.  After choosing the package that best suits your needs, download the virus removal software and save the file to your system hard drive.

Once the download has completed press ‘RUN’ to begin the installation.

You will be presented with the AVG setup program and for the most part you should be able to use all of the system default settings.

avg setup

Click Next to proceed.

The installer will need to download additional support files to complete the installation so be sure that you have an active Internet connection during the installation.  You may be prompted again to choose which package that you wish to install.  This decision is up to you.  Choose a version and press Next.

choose avg

Once all of the installation files have been downloaded you will be prompted to accept the license agreement.  As long as you agree with the terms simply check the box and hit Accept.

avg license

You are now given the choice of either the Standard Installation or a Custom Installation.  For most typical users the standard installation should suffice but feel free to experiment with the custom installation if you wish to manually choose which components you would like to install.

installation type

Enter your name to activate the Free License and press Next.

activate license

Choose a destination path (the default path is normally fine) and press Next.

(If you have chosen a custom installation you will decide which components to install at this point.)

component selection

Choose whether or not you would like to install the AVG Security Toolbar or set Yahoo as your default search provider.  Press Next.

The software may force your web browser to close but we’re almost finished with the installation at this point.

As the installation process concludes you will be prompted to ‘Optimize Scanning Performance’.  This takes a few minutes to complete but helps improve the performance of future scans.

optimization scan

After the optimization process is complete a full system scan should be performed.

AVG may have minimized itself to the taskbar so you might have to open the AVG Command Console by either clicking on the taskbar icon or using the desktop shortcut.

Once you have opened the AVG Command Console select ‘Computer Scanner’ from the menu on the left and then select ‘Scan Whole Computer’ from the menu that opens.

scan whole

This could take some time so you may wish to engage yourself with some other activity and check back periodically to monitor the progress.

With any luck any infections your system may have harbored will have been detected and quarantined.

Keep in mind removing Viruses and Spyware can be tricky; it is possible that not every infection will have been detected by just this one attempt at removal.

If our San Antonio Virus or Spyware Removal Specialists can be of assistance click the button below:

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Increase Windows Startup Speed and System Performance DIY How-To Guide

July 5th, 2010

As Windows starts up there are many programs that are executed automatically, some of which you may not want starting up, and many of which do not need to be started every time your computer is booted up.  If you look at your toolbar, normally in the area directly adjacent to where your clock is displayed, you will probably see many small icons that correspond to various applications that are installed on your system.  Each of those icons actually represents an application that is running in the background of your system, using up valuable system resources.

The majority of applications that add themselves to the start-up sequence do not absolutely need to do so.  Removing some of these applications from your startup sequence can greatly increase system performance.  Do not be alarmed if you remove an application from the start-up sequence and you no longer see its icon in your task-bar area.  You can still access any application removed from the start-up sequence simply by either clicking on its shortcut on the desktop (assuming there is one) or by clicking start and browsing through the programs listing until you find the application and then starting it from there.

As a general rule the only programs that absolutely have to be running in the background are the ones that are associated with your network hardware.  Typically if you are using a wireless network adapter then you would most likely need to be sure that you do not remove that application from the start-up sequence.  There could also be other applications that might support some proxy services or VPN services that might also need to be running depending on your specific situation.  Every situation is different, you may need to experiment a bit to find the best configuration.

Luckily, in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft included a utility starting with Windows 98 that allows you to modify the start-up sequence relatively easily.

Using ‘MSCONFIG’

Windows XP

  • Click on Start->Run
  • Type ‘msconfig’ and press enter or click OK.  (The System Configuration Utility should start up.)

 

Windows Vista / Windows 7

  • Click on Start
  • In the search system box type ‘msconfig’ and press ‘Search’.

 

msconfig

  • In the System Configuration Utility, click on the tab called Startup.
  • You can uncheck any program that you do not wish to execute on startup.  (Changes that you make here are easily reversible.)
  • After you have unchecked as many or few programs as you wish, click ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’.
  • You will then be prompted to restart your computer, click ‘Yes’.

 

If after rebooting you are experiencing problems connecting to the Internet or you are not able to access certain software you can easily go back and recheck those programs in the ‘msconfig’ utility using the same steps outlined above.

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Posted in DIY, Free, Guide, How-To, Increase Performance, Increase Speed, Instructions, Windows |

How-To DIY Guide to Reformat Windows XP Computer

July 5th, 2010

For the computer operator who may have never formatted a hard drive and installed an operating system before, this process can be a little intimidating. Using the Windows XP installation disk to format the hard drive and then install the operating system is a process that an average computer user can handle but if it is the first time doing so there are a few things that need to be explained.

Before doing anything at all determine if there is any data on the computer system that needs to be backed up first. Formatting the hard drive is going to completely wipe out any data that is currently on the system. It would be a good idea to look through the ‘All Programs’ menu in Windows (if it is currently installed and running) to see if there are any programs that will need to be reinstalled after the format and Windows installation. The original installation disks for any installed software or hardware will all be necessary once the Windows installation has been completed.

It would also be advisable to take a look at the ‘My Documents’ folder as this is the most common place for personal information to be stored in Windows. It would not be a bad idea to back this folder up to an external storage drive, flash drive, or CD/DVD.

Another thing that will need to be confirmed before starting the format and install is the boot order of the computer system. The CD/DVD drive will need to be assigned as the first boot device to allow the computer to boot directly from the Windows installation disk. To change the boot order it may be necessary to enter the BIOS settings page to do so. Depending on the manufacturer of the computer system or the motherboard, exactly which key is used to enter the BIOS can vary. Typically on Dell computers it will be the F2 or Del key, for HP it is usually the F1 or F2, Toshiba Esc or F1, and Sony F2 or F3. Rebooting the computer and paying close attention to the messages displayed during the POST can also usually provide the correct key to enter the BIOS.

After entering the BIOS use the arrow keys to navigate through the various menus until the ‘boot order’ is located. If the Hard Drive is the first boot device then the boot order will have to be changed to assign the CD/DVD as the first device. Be sure to save the changes when exiting the BIOS.

Place the Windows XP installation disk into the CD/DVD drive and then restart or power up the computer system with the disk in the drive. If the CD/DVD drive is the first boot device Windows XP Setup should start at this time.

At the ‘Welcome to Setup’ page press ‘Enter’.
Press F8 to accept the Windows Licensing Agreement.
You may be prompted with a ‘repair’ option if you already had windows installed on the machine before now.
To bypass the repair press ‘Esc’.
A list of all existing partitions and non-partitioned spaces will be presented.

Remove any existing partition(s) by using the arrow keys to highlight each existing partition and then pressing the ‘D’ to delete and then pressing ‘L’ to confirm the deletion. Do this for any other partitions that may be present. Once all of the partitions have been removed select the remaining non-partitioned space and press ‘Enter’.

Select the format option that is desired. Formatting using the NTFS file system (quick) will normally work well.

Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick).

Depending on the size of the Hard Drive, the speed and the age, formatting could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. Be patient and DO NOT power the system off during the format process, doing so can physically damage the hard drive.

Once the format process has completed, follow the on screen instructions to install Windows XP.

Allow up to 2 hours for this process to finish, be patient and congratulations you have successfully formatted your Hard Drive and installed Windows XP.

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Software Application Error – Troubleshooting – DIY Guide

July 3rd, 2010

If one of the software applications that you use on a regular basis suddenly generates an error message and will not allow you to continue you can try this simple guide to correcting the issue.  However, use this guide at your own risk.  You should have a general understanding of how to install and uninstall software applications and programs on your system if you plan to use this guide. If you aren’t sure what you are doing, please call and speak to one of our technicians or consult your operating system documentation before using these procedures.  It is possible that the use of these procedures could result in data loss or system failure if not performed correctly.

  1. If you are experiencing a problem with a software application that was recently working properly, but now generates an error message when you try to use it; the first thing you must do is retrace your steps.
  2. Have you installed any new software on your system between the last time you were able to successfully use the broken application and now? 
  3. If so, there may be a conflict between the old software and the new software that you have installed.  Consult the documentation that accompanied the new software and the documentation for the formally working software to see if there is any mention of restrictions or conflicts.  Also, verify that your computer hardware meets the minimum requirements for the application(s).  You can find this information listed on the software installation guide(s) or packaging.
  4. If you cannot think of any new software that has been installed or that might be causing a problem then uninstalling and reinstalling the program might correct the issue.  If you feel that no new software has been installed and you wish to uninstall and reinstall then skip to step 9 otherwise continue to step 5.
  5. Uninstalling any new program(s) that have been installed recently may free up your application to start working again.  If you would like to try doing this then, be sure that you have at least a basic understanding of how to install and uninstall software applications on your system before continuing.
  6. Proceed to uninstalling the suspect application(s) – being very sure to use the proper uninstallation procedure.  If you are not familiar with the steps used to uninstall programs and applications from your system do not try these procedures until you have studied the correct procedures to do so for your operating system.
  7. After uninstalling each new application that you suspect may have been causing an issue; completely power your system down and wait at least 2 minutes before powering back up.
  8. If after uninstalling any new software applications installed recently, and you have made sure to reboot your system, you are still getting an error with the problematic software; you can try uninstalling and reinstalling the application itself - But WAIT, please read on. 
  9. Before you uninstall your application make sure that you have the installation disk and guide that will be needed to reinstall your software.  Read the installation guide carefully!  Verify that all the installation disks are present and that you have the proper license key to perform a re-installation after you have uninstalled the application.  Failure to verify these facts can lead to a situation where your software cannot be reinstalled.
  10. Ok now, if are sure that you feel comfortable knowing that you have everything you will need to reinstall the software; you can go ahead and uninstall your application now.
  11. If you are not familiar with the process that is required to uninstall software on your system then you shouldn’t even be trying to use this guide.
  12. Once the uninstall has completed – power the system all the way down. Do not use the system restart.  Do a complete system shutdown and wait at least 2 minutes before you power the system back up.
  13. You can now attempt to reinstall your application and hopefully your software will be working once again.

With any luck your software will now be working perfectly again.  However, if you are still experiencing problems please feel free to call one of our technicians for further instruction. 210-260-0045.

 

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Posted in Application, DIY, Error, Free, Guide, How-To, Instructions, Step by Step | 4 Comments »