How to Defeat a Trojan Horse From Destroying Your Hard Drive
A Trojan Horse isn't just a creature from Greek mythology, it's also a type of harmful software that can hide within another, seemingly innocent, program.
This type of malware has been known to: • Slow computers to a standstill • Bombard the user with unwanted popup ads • Corrupt drivers • Cause blue screens • And more Trojan virus removal can be broken down into three basic steps: • Stop the Trojan • Ensure it won't recreate itself • Delete all traces of it.
The quickest and probably best way to stop a Trojan is to reboot your computer and press the F8 key a few times before the Windows screen shows.
You will then see a list of boot options to pick from.
Choose Safe Mode with Networking and press enter.
Log on and you will notice that only a minimal set of drivers has been loaded; therefore, your desktop will not look very pretty.
It's very unlikely that the Trojan will run in Safe Mode; however, if it does pop up press the Ctrl-Alt-Del key sequence and kill the task.
Be sure to check under Processes and make sure Show Processes from All Users is checked.
Highlight the Trojan program that is running and press End Task.
Next, you want to ensure the Trojan won't simply recreate itself either by having a scheduled task entry or by taking advantage of Windows System Restore to do so.
To check that no entries have been added to Scheduled Tasks for XP go to the Control Panel and look under Scheduled Tasks (Start, Settings, Control Panel).
For Vista or Windows 7 (Start, Control Panel).
If you notice any strange entries under Scheduled Tasks, delete them.
Additionally, since you know that the Trojan infection may restore itself, it is best to temporarily turn off the System Restore.
For XP (right-click My Computer, Properties, System Restore, check Turn Off System Restore).
For Vista and Windows 7 (right-click Computer, Properties, System Protection, Configure, Turn off system protection).
This should keep the malware from making a return upon rebooting.
Once you've rebooted and verified the Trojan is definitely gone be sure to turn System Restore back on.
At this point, you should still be in Safe Mode with Networking.
Run your favorite malware removal software.
If you don't already have one you might want to check out MalwareBytes.
It's free-of-charge for personal use.
Download, install, and update it.
Then run a full scan of the hard drive.
When any traces of malware are discovered they will be presented to you after the scan has finished.
Check all of the items found and select Remove.
This should do away with the Trojan virus.
Reboot your system and you should now be Trojan free.
This type of malware has been known to: • Slow computers to a standstill • Bombard the user with unwanted popup ads • Corrupt drivers • Cause blue screens • And more Trojan virus removal can be broken down into three basic steps: • Stop the Trojan • Ensure it won't recreate itself • Delete all traces of it.
The quickest and probably best way to stop a Trojan is to reboot your computer and press the F8 key a few times before the Windows screen shows.
You will then see a list of boot options to pick from.
Choose Safe Mode with Networking and press enter.
Log on and you will notice that only a minimal set of drivers has been loaded; therefore, your desktop will not look very pretty.
It's very unlikely that the Trojan will run in Safe Mode; however, if it does pop up press the Ctrl-Alt-Del key sequence and kill the task.
Be sure to check under Processes and make sure Show Processes from All Users is checked.
Highlight the Trojan program that is running and press End Task.
Next, you want to ensure the Trojan won't simply recreate itself either by having a scheduled task entry or by taking advantage of Windows System Restore to do so.
To check that no entries have been added to Scheduled Tasks for XP go to the Control Panel and look under Scheduled Tasks (Start, Settings, Control Panel).
For Vista or Windows 7 (Start, Control Panel).
If you notice any strange entries under Scheduled Tasks, delete them.
Additionally, since you know that the Trojan infection may restore itself, it is best to temporarily turn off the System Restore.
For XP (right-click My Computer, Properties, System Restore, check Turn Off System Restore).
For Vista and Windows 7 (right-click Computer, Properties, System Protection, Configure, Turn off system protection).
This should keep the malware from making a return upon rebooting.
Once you've rebooted and verified the Trojan is definitely gone be sure to turn System Restore back on.
At this point, you should still be in Safe Mode with Networking.
Run your favorite malware removal software.
If you don't already have one you might want to check out MalwareBytes.
It's free-of-charge for personal use.
Download, install, and update it.
Then run a full scan of the hard drive.
When any traces of malware are discovered they will be presented to you after the scan has finished.
Check all of the items found and select Remove.
This should do away with the Trojan virus.
Reboot your system and you should now be Trojan free.
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