When a computer gets a virus one of the first things a user normally wants to do is find a way to get rid of the virus while still preserving the rest of the system. In some cases that may indeed be possible, but for the many more nasty viruses out there, more extreme measures may have to be taken.
Unlike early viruses which were either written to damage data or annoy the user, modern viruses are quite often written with the intent of infiltrating a system and quietly do their job or sending out spam email messages for as long as possible. To accomplish this many virus writers make it incredibly difficult to remove all traces of a virus, and in some cases leaving any portion of the virus code on the computer can lead to a later reinfection. If you get a computer virus it is very important that you remove it completely. Unfortunately some virus scanners may not be up to this task and for a severe infection it may be necessary to use a tool that is customized specifically to that individual virus.
How to Remove A Computer Virus Using Dedicated Removal Tools
Once a virus has been detected on a computer by using an antivirus program, one of the first things to do is read up on that particular infection and see what problems others may be having with removing it. Many antivirus programs provide additional information or links to web sites that can give much more detailed information than that which is provided in the antivirus software itself. If after reading the materials you discover that there is a dedicated removal tool for your specific infection it is often a good idea to download that tool from a non-infected computer (go to the library or a friends house) and then run the removal tool separately.
After running the virus removal tool run another antivirus scan and see if anything else turns up. Make sure to keep the virus database up to date, and if any new infections are found that are related to the original the process must start again. Sadly, the only way to be absolutely certain that some viruses are gone is to completely format the hard drive and restore the system from a backup made before the computer got infected.
