Remove the virus

Fortunately, by updating the computer and by using malicious software removal tools, you can help permanently remove unwanted software. For more information about how to remove a computer virus and spyware, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: - Microsoft resources and guidance for removal of malware and viruses.

Note A computer virus may prevent you from accessing the Microsoft Update website to install the latest updates. We recommend that you set the Automatic Updates service to run automatically so that a computer is not missing any important updates. Microsoft offers a free online tool that scans and helps remove potential threats from your computer. To perform the scan, go to the Microsoft Safety Scanner website. Note the name of the rogue security software. For this example, we'll call it XP Security Agent When you are prompted, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode with Networking , and then press Enter.

Click the Start button and check whether the rogue security software appears on the Start menu. If it's not listed there, click All Programs and scroll to find the rogue security software's name. Right-click the name of the rogue security software program, and then click Properties. In the Properties dialog box, check the path of the rogue security software program that is listed in Target.

Note The folder name frequently is a random number. In the Program Files window, click Program Files in the address bar. Scroll until you find the rogue security software program folder. For example, XP Security Agent Go to the Microsoft Safety Scanner website. If you suspect that your computer is infected with rogue security software that was not detected by using Microsoft security solutions, you can submit samples by using the Microsoft Malware Protection Center submission form.

Microsoft Defender Offline is an anti-malware tool that helps remove difficult to eliminate viruses that start before Windows starts. Starting with Windows 10, Microsoft Defender Offline is built-in. Click Download the 32 bit version or Download the 64 bit version , depending on which operating system that you are running.

If you're unsure of which operating system that you are running, see Is my PC running the bit or bit version of Windows. When you are prompted, press a key to select an option to use to start your computer, such as F12, F5, or F8, depending on the kind of computer that you are using. Use the arrow key to scroll to the drive where you installed Microsoft Defender Offline file.

Microsoft Defender Offline starts and immediately scans for malware. Confirm that the Windows firewall is turned on. See Turn Microsoft Defender Firewall on or off for instructions on how to do that on modern versions of Windows. In the Search box, type firewall, and then click Windows Firewall. In the left pane, click Turn Windows Firewall on or off you may be prompted to enter your administrator password.

Only download programs from sites that you trust. If you're not sure whether to trust a program that you want to download, enter the name of the program into your favorite search engine to see whether anyone else has reported that it contains spyware. Read all security warnings, license agreements, and privacy statements that are associated with any software that you download.

Never click "Agree" or "OK" to close a window that you suspect might be spyware. Be wary of popular "free" music and movie file-sharing programs, and make sure that you understand all the software packaged with those programs. Use a standard user account instead of an administrator account. An administrator account can access anything on the system, and any malware run with an administrator account can use the administrator permissions to potentially infect or damage any files on the system.

For more information about how to protect a computer against viruses, see Protect my PC from viruses. It may only be a indicator that something is not correct within Microsoft Defender. Which may have occurred due to other malware, or just simply from installing or uninstalling another security program.

With that in mind, I would suggest that you perform the following procedures, to correct the most probable reasons why Defender might think that it is not providing the protection that is needed. At the cursor, type the following Cmdlet. Check the list again to ensure that all three items now show a status of True.

Use the following link for the instructions to delete Detection History from Defender's Protection History. Defender has a tendency to report what it has stored in Detection History, as a new detection. Disregard the reference in the link to PUPs.

This can apply to other malware as well. In reply to Reza Ameri's post on January 28, Windows defender can detect it, but it's a trojan virus so it hides in my file. Windows antivirus detects it, but can properly remove it. In reply to GlenProuty's post on January 30, Thank you for trying to help, but all of those things are true and it still doesn't work. I think it's been on my computer for a few weeks now. In reply to Matthew Iga's post on February 1, Hi Matthew, Sorry to hear that I was of no help.

You did not mention whether you tried deleting Detection History or not. If you did not, I would encourage you to follow the instructions in the link and do so. And the procedure described in the link is simple to accomplish, and is completely safe to do. You will be deleting something that is rebuilt by Windows, the next time it is needed. Good luck, Glen.

Are you facing any difficulty in removing this malware? Nick In reply to Nick 08's post on March 22, Yes I am also facing the same problem!!

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