How do I get Adware off of my computer?

I have windows 7 and my scan showed I have adware. I've never done this before on my own. It said that it couldn't be opened and it was in a zip file. I would appreciate any help on this. 

Comments

  • NikK
    NikK Posts: 903 Forum Champion

    Did you get a chance of selecting an action to be performed for the found infection? Like clean, delete or quarantine.

    I'm not sure but you may have to take action on the zip file instead of the infected file inside it. If the zip file is not important you can delete it, or you can open the zip file and delete the infected file inside it. But do not execute the infected file!

     

    You could try the Online Scanner I think that'll clean any infections without asking anything.

     

    Adware is usually harmless and not always detected by anti-virus products. Try the free Malwarebytes Anti-Malware it will find and remove any PUPs = Potentially Unwanted Programs, which are applications that behaves in ways you don't want, like displaying ads and pop-ups for example. It's a great program that I recommend to all, regardless of which anti-virus product you have.

  • Blackcat
    Blackcat Posts: 503 Influencer

    As NikK said, if the zipped file is not important simply delete it.

     

    However, I would not use F-Secure's Online scanner unless you have backup/image in place as it may delete clean files by marking them as false positives.

     

    SnapCrab_NoName_2013-12-24_11-40-34_No-00.png

     

    I would not recommend/use any scanner that carries out an action by itself without any user interaction e.g. It should ask for a response when a supposedly "infected" file is detected!

     

    F-Secure, like a number of other AVs will not catch everything and it needs help with adware/spyware/PUPs etc. 

     

    So as NikK says, Malwarebytes is a great on-demand second scanner to support F-Secure.

  • Simon
    Simon Posts: 2,667 Superuser

    Just to add to the above advice, I think it's ticked by default, but double click the F-Secure icon to open the Launch Pad, then go to Computer Security > Settings, and make sure the box under Manual scanning is ticked to scan within zipped files:

     

    Untitled-1.png

     

    You can then try right clicking and manually scanning the offending zipped file, but as has been said, if it's nothing important, then it's probably easier just to delete it.

  • If you are using 2005 or an upper version of F-Secure then it has an inbuilt tool for scanning adwares. Well if it's not removing that automatically then you highly need to install Lavasoft's Ad-Aware tool for removing this. Hope that helps:)

  • Rusli
    Rusli Posts: 1,012 Influencer

    Try Anyone of these ...

     

    http://www.surfright.nl/en/downloads/

     

    http://www.bitdefender.com/scanner/online/free.html

     

    http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/?lng=en

     

    You can also download an ISO version of AVIRA Rescue Disc and burn it to a CD-R. And boot up from there. Internet Connection Needed.

     

    http://www.avira.com/en/download/product/avira-rescue-system

     

     

  • 1ck
    1ck Posts: 2
    Spoiler
    I would like to delete this file but I don't know where it's located. Know the name of it from the scan so I went to start and typed it in and nothing turned up.Then I went to my downloaded documents, pictures and videos but I still can't find anything. I should know this but my son is the computer science major who always helped me. Thank you for all of your help with this.
  • Blackcat
    Blackcat Posts: 503 Influencer

    It may be hidden.

     

    To ensure that you can see hidden fileshttp://www.wintips.org/how-to-view-hidden-files-in-windows-7/

     

    When you have deleted the file, change the settings back to their original values.

     

     

     

     

     

  • NikK
    NikK Posts: 903 Forum Champion

    Scan again, and when you get the list of infections you right-click an infection and select "Properties" from the small pop-up window. The Properties window that opens will show the full path of the infected file.

    scanresults.png

  • AdBakker
    AdBakker Posts: 5 Observer

    Unfortunately the screens with me are different. The screen after finishing is as below:

     

    Scan-ready.jpg

     

    Regretfully it is in Dutch, the last paragraph says:

    "Scan finished. Harmful items are found but cannot be moved into the trash"

     

    When I click "Details" I get the following screen:

     

    Details.jpg

     

    Clicking (left or right) on the lines does nothing, the action stated for every file is "Reported". But I wonder to whom is it reported?

     

    Most of the items I could remove with X11 (some directories are hidden for Mac OS, not for Unix). Two of them I am not sure, I think they have to do with the torrent handler Vuze. I must check that.

     

    But as I see it, it should not be necessary to go that deep. This should be handled by the F-Secure software!!!

     

    Regards,

     

    Ad Bakker

  • NikK
    NikK Posts: 903 Forum Champion

    I'm not familiar with anti-virus for Mac but I assume it works overall like the PC version. If you expand the column "Pad" you should be able to see the full path of the files.

     

    It's a built-in function to report it to F-Secure Labs (depending on your Privacy settings)

     

    If the Mac version has right-click scan functionality(like windows explorer) from OS X Finder program, try scanning one file at a time to see if you perhaps can get more information that way.

    If you can find out what type/name of infection it is, you can get more information including additional removal instructions by searching for each infection here: http://www.f-secure.com/en/web/labs_global/threats/descriptions

     

    Can someone who uses Anti-Virus for Mac help out!

     

    ps. please try to stay in the original thread in the future. now your issue is jumping between your own initial thread and this one, confusing the readers including me.

  • AdBakker
    AdBakker Posts: 5 Observer

    ps. please try to stay in the original thread in the future. now your issue is jumping between your own initial thread and this one, confusing the readers including me.

    OK, I reacted to the message that you linked me to. It would have been better to repeat that message there because now it is a bit strange to react to a message in another thread.

    Anyhow I answered there now. I have right click performance on the Mac, but not on the lines with corrupted files.

     

    Regards,

     

    Ad Bakker

  • NikK
    NikK Posts: 903 Forum Champion

    About the right-click, I meant from The Finder where you can browse/search folders and files on your Mac.

    But again, I don't know if F-Secure for Mac supports right-click scanning from Finder. Was hoping someone else could verify that!

  • Rusli
    Rusli Posts: 1,012 Influencer

    AdBakker,

     

    Since you are using a Mac.

     

    I am suggesting you to go and read this link.

     

    http://www.thesafemac.com/arg/

     

    Adware Removal Guide

    Published November 7th, 2013 at 3:36 PM EST, modified December 17th, 2013 at 7:11 AM EST

    adware

    Adware has been a plague on the Windows world for years. Unfortunately, this plague has begun to spread to the Mac as well. There are a number of different programs out there that serve no useful purpose except to shove ads in your face, all just to make money for the developer of the adware. Because it lives in the borderline between malware and legit software, though, detection by anti-virus software can be very hit-or-miss. This can make removal difficult.

    Adware often comes packaged in installers for other software. Sometimes, this is because it has been added to a legit piece of software by an unscrupulous download site. (Even mainstream download sites, such as Download.com and Softonic, have resorted to this kind of unethical behavior.) Sometimes it is because a developer has opted to use an adware-riddled installer, provided with incentives from the adware creator, to distribute their software. It could even be installed through deceit, by pretending to be something that it is not in order to trick the user into installing it. (This last type is usually the only type that is detected as malware by anti-virus software.)

    The most typical symptom of such adware is the display of advertisements on your Mac where none should exist. Adware also will often change your browser’s home page and search engine settings, and may even cause redirects from legit sites to sites constructed for the financial benefit of the adware developer. It can also cause secondary problems, such as web pages displaying incorrectly due to insertion of foreign HTML code, and even browser crashes.

    If you have symptoms that lead you to believe that you have adware installed, see the Identification section below for help identifying what adware you have (if any), then refer to the appropriate removal instructions.

    Table of Contents

    1. Is it adware?
    2. Identification
    3. Removal

    Note that this page is a work-in-progress, and probably always will be. If you find adware not described on these pages, or find that known malware is behaving in ways other than as described here, please contact me!

  • Blackcat
    Blackcat Posts: 503 Influencer

    Nice post, Rusli Smiley Wink

  • Rusli
    Rusli Posts: 1,012 Influencer

    If the problem is resolve please click on kudos.

     

    Thanks AdBakker!

     

    Thanks to thesafemac. Very much appreciated to your contributions.

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