Okay, considering I'm giving you the basic rundown of why we all really detest Spyware, I have decided to pitch in a bit of my knowledge on how to remove spyware programs manually that even Ad-Aware and other Anti-Spyware programs normally tend to overlook.
It's quick and easy to do - and it'll guarantee you one step closer to removing all the spyware you never wanted in the first place.
Call it shared knowledge that I have learned from a good friend of mine whom I wish to share to all you others out there as well.
Reminder: Each of the "Steps" are highlighted and linked to a picture so that you can see visually through a step-by-step basis what you are supposed to be doing here. And yes, pictures do speak louder than words.
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Step 1: From "My Computer" - Go to the Local C: Drive as highlighted by me in blue, below.
Step 2: Search your way through the folders until you come across this picture here.
Double click on it like so to access in.
Step 3: Go to the Administator Folder and open the folder.
Step 4: Near the top, click on Tools > Folder Options as seen here, then click on the options > View All Hidden Files And Folders, to access all the hidden folders on your computer. You must do this in order to get to the actual source of the Spyware problem. It's very important indeed that you should follow this step here.
Step 5: Click on the hidden folder, Application Data from within your archives.
Step 6: Now this is the tricky part. Find any folders you think shouldn't belong on your computer, or those you never even realized existed in the first place, and deem it to be spyware there. For my example, I found two folders which clearly stood out as Spyware Spam - it's easy to find it and the names are very easily extingishable from one another. I highlighted the two folders of Spyware in my computer alone. Note that you should check the folders out before progressing any further here.
Step 7: Now that's a lot of Spyware. Time to start the removal process.
Step 8: Simply highlight the folders you targeted and like the picture shown here, right click and delete the folders like so. There's a warning though.
Reminder: Make a back-up folder if indeed you delete some folders but your windows program suddenly stops working properly. That way, when the computer acts differently from normal, you can go on the Safe Mode from your Windows program here and replace your missing folders as so. It's a recommendation but if you really nailed the Spyware files down to the wire, you don't have anything to worry about over here.
Step 9: Now the files look all neat and tidy, and filled with useful programs indeed. You are now one step closer to being free of Spyware.
Step 10: You can also repeat the process for "All Users" as well, and access "Application Data" as always.
| Step 11 | Step 12 | Step 13 | Step 14 |
- Delete as such.
- Make a back-up file just in case.
- Be sure to delete files you assume are to be of Spyware material. Otherwise, if you don't think it's
considered Spyware, therefore don't touch and use my method instead
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Further Tips on Removing Spyware
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Thanks for reading the tutorial, and I hope this serves you well. Don't forget to click on the links below on programs that automatically remove spyware for you. You'll need these programs hand in hand so that all Spyware can be deleted from your computer there.
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Procedures
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If you aren't able to delete some of the files within the folder manually - that is because you have either:
- Accessed a website.
- Opened a program related to the internet and such.
If you do one of the following, you will have triggered one of the Spyware programs and it will be immediately already in use, which would explain why you won't be able to delete those programs right away.
Therefore, it would be wise at best to restart your computer before performing the procedure, DON'T access the internet or open any programs AT ALL here - that may trigger the Spyware trap - and then try to delete the files as such. Do this before doing anything else, and you're guaranteed to get all the Spyware junk out before you know it.
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Advanced Method to Removing Spyware
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**NOTE: Only for advanced computer users. Otherwise, I suggest that you skip this part and use the necessary Ad-Aware program to take care of the rest of your problems here. Look at the related threads below for more input.
A basic rundown of RegEdit:
Step 15: Access "System Information" - like so.
Step 16: Go to Software Environment > Startup Programs - I highlighted a Spyware trigger file as an example, which then I will begin the removal process soon enough.
Step 17: Access the "Run" selection as shown in this picture.
Step 18: Type "regedit.exe" in the box inside and click OK with your mouse pointer here.
Step 19: Click on the + sign at "HKEY_LOCAL_CURRENT_USER" and then highlight "Software" shown here below. Click on the + sign next to this selection here, as well.
Step 20: Scroll down until you reach Windows > Current Version > Run
Step 21: Now find the Spyware startup file you want to delete, right click over the file, and press "Delete" like so. However - if you aren't sure it's Spyware 100%, don't delete it!! Just a fair warning. My example here was a Spyware program that I have deleted earlier, using my other method from above. This one here is the file that triggers the Spyware Program, not the actual source of the Spyware Program itself, which I had already deleted before in the much earlier steps if you can recall back then.
Step 22: Now the Spyware Startup File is no longer there. You have now removed the rest of the Spyware as so - this means no more annoying Spyware programs triggered, whenever you restart, boot, and open Windows. Thank you for reading.
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