Worms

[elfgirl]

my friend has a worm and was going to throw away her computer. Is there a way to take it off? it wont even let her download anything.

 

[TJCS]

Got a virus worm and want to throw away her computer? I want to live in her trash can.

Boot off an OS-installation CD/DVD, "format", install OS on C:, done.

 

[boardsportsrule]

yes. the question comes to is it worth it? if she was considering tossing it, i wonder if its a very old computer? may be time for an upgrade, as well as a lesson on responsible use of the internet.

if the pc was working fine, bring it to a shop and have them restore it...its suprizingly easy if you're computer saavy

 

[lxskllr]

if the pc was working fine, bring it to a shop and have them restore it...its suprizingly easy if you're computer saavy

Or get someone to do it privately. If you're school age, your bound to know someone that can reinstall an O/S. It doesn't require much more than a pulse :^D

 

[MadScientist]

Don't trash the computer yet. Try cleaning it first before re-installing the OS.
Elfgirl you can help your friend by downloading Malawarebytes Anti-Malware and SuperAntiSpyware free editions with their latest viruses definitions/rules, copy them to a flash drive or burn them to a disk, and install them on your friend's computer.
http://malwarebytes.gt500.org/

http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html


http://www.superantispyware.com/definitions.html


Run full scans of her C drive and any other permanent partitions with both programs in Safe Mode. To access Safe Mode, tap the F8 key while the computer is booting.

Also run a complete scan with, if she has one, her current av program in normal mode. If she is not running an av program, try to download from her computer Microsoft Security Essentials, install it, and run a complete scan of C drive.

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

 

[Lemon law]

Mad Scientist has a point. It is sometimes possible to easily remove the infections and have less time in than in nuking the hard drive and starting over. And the other bonus is that you keep your installed programs and personal data.

But if you have some real stubborn malware, its often more time effective to just nuke the hard drive and start fresh. Especially important if you are paying someone by the hour.

But for any of you who reach that sad dilemma, you would not be there if you had a decent security system in place beforehand. So before you have to pay the fixer's bill in time or money, why not use another computer to download a security system to install on your freshly fixed computer as the first thing to add to your newly repaired computer..

 

[elfgirl]

Thank you all for your advice, I even asked her if she had AVG or Spyware Doctor and shes said "What's that?" OMG