Many people seem to struggle with viruses and other malware infecting their computer, in what seems to be an uneven battle. Many resort to formating, or end up using a different OS. But what if you simply want to get rid of every infection? Indeed, there are numerous suggestions on what to do, what AV programs to use etc. Here 's though what I recommend, what I believe is the most efficient way to remove infections.

Before we start, I must warn you. There is no quick way to deal with viruses. This will take a long time. But it's the only way to be 100% sure you removed every malware without formating. If you think that all these are unnecessary, and that a simple scan with an anti-spyware and an anti-virus application suffice, think again. There are stealthy viruses that won't bother you at all. They won't bog your computer down, they want spawn annoying pop-ups, they won't cause any noticeable change in your PC. The purpose of these malware is to collect personal information, make your computer remotely accessible and controlled, gateway to many illegal operations and many more.

Here we go.

Part 1: Preparation.
Boot your PC in safe mode with networking enabled. To do so, repeatedly hit F8 while booting, then choose Safe Mode with networking enabled. Now, download and install the 3 following programs:

MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware.
# Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
# At the end, confirm a check mark is placed next to the following:

* Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

# Then click Finish.
# If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.

If MBAM won't run, try renaming the file mbam-setup.exe to something else, and then try again.

SUPERAntiSpyware
You will only need this to perform some trivial repairs to your system.

# Double-click SUPERAntiSpyware.exe to start the installation and follow the prompts to install the program (install it for Anyone who uses this computer).
# After the installation is complete, the program will ask you to choose your language and then whether you would like it to update itself. Click Yes.
# Don't enter an e-mail address when it prompts you to, it's unnecessary.
# Click next twice, untick Send a diagnostic report to our research center, then next and Finish..
# On the next window, click Do NOT Protect. That's it, now close the program from the system tray.

Avast Home Edition
# Installation is pretty straightforward, reboot your computer in Safe mode with networking when it finishes.

Part 2: The clean-up.

Launch Malwarebytes'. Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then click Scan. When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results. Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected. When prompted to restart, do so in safe mode as before.

Now launch avast -don't worry about the demo warning- stop the ongoing memory test and update the virus database (click the lightning button on the main window). Click Menu (upper left of the window), then Schedule Boot-Time Scan. Make sure Scan all local disks is ticked, and Scan archive files is unticked. Tick Advanced options and select Delete infected file as well as Allow delete or move for both drop-down textboxes that appear. Ignore the warning (click Yes), then click Schedule and reboot your computer (Normal boot).

Next, you'll you have to run a scan with Kaspersky Online Scanner
It is very slow, let it fully update first (make sure you have enough free disk space available as it will run locally on your computer), then make sure you have all scan options enabled (adware/malware etc.) -if the scan starts automatically after updating, stop it and configure your settings first.
After the scan is complete (it might take long), pm me the scan report to give you removal instructions, should your computer be infected; the scanner won't clean any detected items.

If further problems arise, post a comment or PM me.
Note that we haven't got rid of viruses that reside in Archive files (.rar, .zip, etc.), so be careful.

Part 3: Finishing touches/Avoiding infections.

In case you're still experiencing some problems (redirects, inability to open certain programs, etc.) or just to be sure everything runs fine, run SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition from the start menu. Right-click the sys tray icon, then click View Control Center (Preferences/Options)... At the window that just opened, under the Repairs tab, highlight the first entry and click Perform Repair... Do so for each of the rest entries and reboot whenever prompted.

Download and install CCleaner. This application will get rid of temporary files residing in your system. It is wise to run it often. If possible, run it before taking any action to remove viruses.
"CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history."

The best firewall is free. A firewall is essential for your system's security. Whether unknown threats infect your computer and try to contact the Internet, or someone decides to pull an attack towards you, you should have a firewall installed. That firewall is COMODO Firewall. During installation, do NOT install the antivirus or any recommended toolbar. Don't run a malware scan as prompted, but when asked, assume your computer is not clean. Having Defence+ enabled is good, but Firewall security at safe mode is incumbent upon. Be patient at first as it will pop-up numerous alerts on newly run programs, but with time they will be minimum.

Some useful advice: When browsing potentially unsafe websites or are about to run unsafe applications (keygens are usually packed with viruses) use Sandboxie. Any program run under the supervision of Sandboxie will keep it's contents inside a confined space in your hard drive, enabling you to easily delete it.
Also stay away from Internet Explorer. Use Firefox instead as it's much more secure.

I hope I covered everything.
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Next up: Anonymity and Privacy. What you need to become a ghost of the Internet.More on configuration later