Currently there are over 400,000 different virus variations. This includes Trojans, hijackers, spyware, worms, malware and adware. Once infected with something it is important to first identify which type of infections it is so the correct tools can be used. If adds are popping up on your screen or your desktop background has changed then chances are you have adware. If you click on a link on the internet and end up not going where you wanted to then you have a hijacker. If your PC is running really slow then chances are you have a virus, Trojan, worm, malware or spyware present. Trojans you typically will not know you have since they are designed to run silently in the background. Read the appropriate section below for your infection and you are also welcome to use any of my virus removal tools in the tools section of this web site. The Process Explorer allows you to see running programs where the infection can then be terminated. The Auto Runs program allows you to see what programs are designated to automatically run at boot time so you can delete them preventing startup.

Trojans

Trojans usually run silently in the background allowing hackers to enter your PC secretly. Trojans can easily be detected by anti-virus programs which will typically tell you which Trojan it is and which file is the infection. If its one file chances are you can boot in safe mode, locate the file and delete it. Use anyone of the free online scanners here to identify which file or files are infected. Once the file has been identified you can locate it and delete it. If deletion fails you can try terminating the program first using the Task Manager and then try deleting the file or files.

Adware

Adware is the most popular infection going today. If you have popup adds then you're not alone. Most are very difficult to remove once running since they use what is called a rootkit to hide the actual infected files or the infection uses a brother/sister file. If you delete the brother file then the sister puts the file back and vise versa. In any case the rootkit must be removed first and then the infected files can be located and deleted. Note though many of the current adware infections replace critical parts of the operating system. This means if you delete the files your PC will not boot again. You can try the free online scanners and try deleting the files however I would leave adware removal to a professional.

Spyware

Spyware can be easily detected by anti-virus software but again once running you can not delete the files. Free anti-virus programs will tell you which spyware it is and where the files are. If its one file chances are you can boot in safe mode, locate the file and delete it. Use anyone of the free online scanners here to identify which file or files are infected. If a deletion attempt fails you can try terminating the program first using the Task Manager and then try deleting the file or files.

Viruses and Worms and Malware

Most of these types of infections can be removed by anti-virus programs even after they enter and are running. In this case you can download and install one of the free anti-virus programs here. If you have problems deleting the files then try booting in safe mode and delete the files.

Hijacker

This is  another very popular infection which is very difficult to remove. Hijackers today make full use of rootkits to hide the infected files. In addition they replace many critical operating system files sometimes making them impossible to remove without a spare copy of the OS. You should leave hijack removal to a professional.