Deep Fast Scanning For Hidden Computer Spyware Or Malware

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In case you have not noticed, Malware is getting into your computer at almost every turn that you make. Everywhere you go and almost everything you download comes with something that you do not want.

The other day I downloaded a printer driver from HP and I got a Bing add on that I did not want. It is getting harder and harder to keep your computer squeaky clean. In fact, Malware such as Conduit is actually found on some brand new computers right out of the box! You heard right, Malware is on some computers before you even purchase them or bring them home.

In many cases the Malware is simply nuisance add ons that clutter up your browser. In other cases, the Malware gives you constant pop-ups and in some instances it will redirect you to another site instead of the one you are trying to access. In all cases, the redirects are trying to sell you a product. In other cases the redirects take you to sites that will try to download malicious code to your system and crash your computer.

Even if you have Malware protection installed on your system, much of this junk is only considered borderline Malware and many products just will not pick it up. The same will hold true for many virus programs as well. Most of the junk that we see everyday is not found or removed by the normal scans of Malware programs. Many of these nuisance  programs are small apps that do things like clean your registry, detect Malware, stop hardware errors and the list goes on and on. This category of programs is called PUPS or Potentially Unwanted Programs. In almost every case if you have a PUP you do not want it. Malwarebytes is excellent at finding and removing these programs but still some will play a game of hide and seek and will be installed in locations that programs do not normally populate.

When you install your favorite virus scanner, the default scan is almost always a quick scan. For normal maintenance, this is all you usually need to use. The scan looks in locations that most Malware populates and the scan will take minutes instead of hours. Occasionally, it is a good idea to scan a bit deeper into your system to be sure nothing is hiding in the shadows. This is when you want to perform a “deep scan” or as most programs call it, a full scan of your system.

A full scan does exactly what it implies. It will scan every single file that is on your computer. If you have a large hard drive, this could take hours to do. The time it takes will depend a lot on how large a drive you have, how many files that you have on your system and also the speed of your computer. A full scan usually includes everything that you have on your RAM memory as well as the main disk drive. This type of scan is useful if a virus is hiding as a jpg, pdf or a doc file. In addition a full scan will usually also include any removable devices that are located on your system. These types of infections can blow right by a quick scan.

A full scan can also show some false positives as well. If I do a full scan on my system, I have to designate my folder that contains all my computer tools as an exception. If I do not do this, the scan will mistake some of them for Malware. You can do the same in your computer. If you have a known “good” folder that contains known safe files, you can add that file as exclusion to be sure nothing is accidentally found and deleted or quarantined.

If a Malware program accidentally deletes a file, you will not have a way to get it back unless you have a backup or the Malware program allows you to restore it. Although rare, some virus programs have been known to delete actual Windows operating system files by accident if a bad virus definition was released. This is rare but it can cause a no-boot situation that is hard to recover from unless you have a full backup of your system.

Since a full scan takes a long time, it is not practical to do every time you check your system. If you scan your system daily automatically, a quick scan will do the job most of the time. You will want to run a full scan about a month or so. For most folks, this will work out perfect. If you are extremely careful and do not suspect anything, you can often go longer. If you feel like your system is just not running up to par or you are just plain paranoid, a weekly scan can be done automatically at night while you sleep.

There are many programs out there and some of the menus are not always that user friendly and it is difficult to get to the scan options. For example, if you are using Avast as your anti-virus program you will navigate to the main menu and click on “scan”. In the dropdown box that emerges click on the “Full System Scan” option. You will then click on “Settings” and where it asks you to select what you want to scan select “all hard disks”, “root kits” and “Auto start programs and modules in memory”. Look for another box that will say “scan all files” and put a tick in the box. Click OK to save all your settings and begin the scan. Be sure to allow a couple of hours or longer for the scan to complete.

With Microsoft Security essentials the complete scan is extremely easy to find. Simply open the main interface and put a tick in the Full Scan option and hit scan. But before doing the scan, go to the “Settings” tab and click on “Advanced”. Be sure all these options are selected: Scan Archived Files, Scan Removable Drives, Create a System Restore Point and Allow All Users To View Full History Results. Save all your options and return to the main tab and do your scan. Please allow a few hours for the scan to complete.

Assuming you are using the newest version of Malwarebytes, here is how to perform a manual full scan of your system. First, open up the main interface and click the “Settings” tab on the top of the screen. Now look at the left navigation bar and click on “Detection and Protection”. Be sure to check “Use Advanced Heuristics”, “Scan For Rootkits” and “Scan Within Archives”. Be sure both Malware Protection and Malicious Website Protection is enabled if you are using the paid version. Now click the “Scan” tab on the top of the program and click on “Custom Scan”. From here you can choose what drives you want to check.

Remember that whatever drive you choose the tool will scan each and every file on that drive so allow plenty of time for the scan. In addition be sure to check the “Scan For Rootkits” option on the left. The new version of Malwarebytes seems to take longer to scan then the original version and it uses a lot more resources so try not to use the computer while the scan is in progress so you do not freeze your computer.

Another popular program you might have is AVG. When you open the main menu, click on the options menu. Since it is not clearly labeled, look for three horizontal bars. Where you see” Scan Whole Computer” look for another options icon and click it. You will want to be sure all the options are checked except for “Scan For Tracking Cookies”. Next open “Additional Scan Settings” in the window. Where you see file types for scanning click on “All File Types”.

Next put a tick next to “Scan Files Without Extensions” and then click the OK button. Now find the scan button and click “Start Scan”. As with the other products, allow plenty of time to do a full scan. In all cases you can always stop the scan at anytime if you need to use the computer. The only drawback is that you will have to restart the scan all over again and your scan will take much longer.

Often times, I see computers that are running two separate anti-virus programs plus Malwarebytes. This is not a good idea no matter well the intentions are. In fact, it can be downright dangerous. We only recommend running one dedicated anti-virus program and Malwarebytes together. Do not run multiple instances of either. That ia all you need. Anything more and you might be looking at an unbootable computer.

As you can see, there are lots of ways you can combat Malware and keep your system clean. Just do not try to overkill your system with too much protection. Form a plan and always do the full scan on all your systems the same day. You can call it something like Protection Day or something similar. While you are working so hard to protect your system lets not forget about Back Up Day. Be sure to maintain a regular back up program so you have a way to recover in case something sneaks past all your protection efforts.

Remember that no computer is completely immune from infections no matter what protection you use. If you maintain a regular and consistent program of scanning and back ups, it will make it that much easier if you have to do a full recovery of your system. Remember it is not a matter of if you will get an infection but rather a matter of when.

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Article by, Joe Z  and Ross Deprey