I have tried a few different antivirus and antispyware programs, and nothing works. How do I wipe the hard drive, or restore to preinfection status?

5 Responses to “I have a Dell desktop, and I can’t remove a virus/spyware. How do I wipe hard drive?”

  • mrrockford says:

    Howdy,

    You can try System Restore to "go back in time" or if that will not work, before formatting and reinstalling try this out.

    http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction

    Experts that will help you for free!

  • Jenny S says:

    To remove spyware,there are many solutions exist, all of them with their own strengths and weaknesses.
    Top 5 anti-spywares reviews,comparisons and download links on
    http://anti-spywares.info/
    You can download and scan your computer for free.

  • Strong M says:

    Go to http://www.spywareremover-download.com
    Download Spywareremover for free.
    Not only does spywareRemover get rid of the malicious spyware & adware that have invaded your system, it also prevents infestations from reoccurring. SPYwareRemover will keep your computer’s performance at its best and it will protect your privacy and your identity.

  • recentcoin2000 says:

    Odds are that something on your machine is causing your problem. Start at the top of this list. Install the products one at a time. After you install each one, be sure to install all of their updates. Have each one complete a full scan before proceeding to the next one. One of these *should* fix your problem. Work down the list until your problem disappears. Keep in mind that everyone of these things is either free of charge or open source. That also means that the updates are free. Running the software with out the updates is the same as not running it at all. In addition to anti-virus software, you should also have anti-spyware software.

    You should use more than one anti-spyware package because there is no one spyware package that will detect everything. Each one will pick up things that the others miss. Part of this is based on what gets submitted to the people who make the software which in turn is based on what the users encounter. There are so many that its hard to create a comprehensive list of everything out there that spies on you.

    When you’re done, be sure to go to Windows Update and apply ALL of the patches. Don’t just run the "Express" updates. Run "Custom" and pick all of the software that’s available to you. It make take several times before you no longer have patches. Once that’s done, be sure to turn on your automatic updates. For Windows XP – http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306525. For Vista – http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/updates/faq.mspx

    Make sure that you’re not running a cracked version of Windows or other software packages. Software doesn’t get cracked for the benefit of humanity. It gets cracked because a hacker somewhere wants you run his software on your computer. That means he can use your computer to serve porn and send spam. Or capture your user names and passwords for identity theft.

    1) Spybot Search & Destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

    2) Windows Defender – http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

    3) Lavasoft Adware – http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.phpi

    4) Clamwin Antivirus – http://www.clamwin.com/

    5) Fsecure Black Light – http://www.f-secure.com/blacklight/

  • Jeffrey F says:

    Usually Dell desktop have restore CD, you can just simply restore it to its factory default, if not then you need only a standard windows xp to install it.

    If your dell has a SATA disk, then you might have some problems booting XP since the default XP cd doesn’t have support for SATA drivers, you’ll need to make a custom cd by using NLITE, try first searchin for your Dell restore CD.

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