Folks - I didn't see this get mentioned so I thought I would post in here.
Before attempting to get rid of malware with your chosen program, turn off
System Restore and then reboot your PC into
Safe Mode and run the scan from within there. Get your system into Safe Mode by holding or tapping the
F8 key as soon as your PC is started during the POST ( Power on self test ) where the black screen with white text shows or your manufacturers logo. Then choose
Start Windows in Safe Mode.
Running a scan in normal Windows mode will most certainly miss things that can only be found by your anti-malware app in Safe Mode. Reason being that in Normal Windows mode most of the nasties will be running in the background and as a result are impossible to remove. In Safe Mode however, Windows only loads up the bare minimum it requires to run at boot up so the nasties dont get a chance to run.
And if you don't turn off
System Restore before scanning, some nasties can hide themselves in the
C:system volume informationrestore. What happens then is you run your scan in normal mode and think you have got rid of everything your anti malware app finds. You delete all the nasties and restart your PC where upon they simply drop back into your system via the restore volume and your back to square one.
After you have ran your scan, found the nasties and deleted them, restart yer PC in Normal mode and remember to turn System Restore back on and create a new restore point.
