BillyBoy PM'd me about his machine and I thought about publishing my reply here because I'm worried some might not be familiar with the Windows Registry and I cannot warn enough about poking around in the Registry using the Windows program
'regedit.'
So I'm going to copy my reply to this post just to let you all know that while these facilities are fully available in all versions on Windows, you would be advised to read up on
'regedit' before committing to it. On many searches for curing problems you will often see advice to alter, delete or create registry keys and 'regedit' is where you do this. BUT IT IS DANGEROUS.
Here is my reply to the PM:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BobClay
Quote:
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Originally Posted by billyboy
"I'd sooner edit the registry myself and search and destroy any path I thought no longer relevant. Facilities readily available in Windows right up to version 10."
Good morning Bob. I am very interested in learning how to do just that. Can you PM me a clue on how to do it myself please. I am recovering from a nasty one that has infected computers of high profile people in the UK Most unpleasant.
I have now dumped crap cleaner entirely. Thank you.
Billyboy.
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Well editing the Registry is performed by running a program built into Windows called 'regedit' but I must emphasise that this is highly dangerous as the edit takes effect instantly and can do a lot of damage.
If you are infected you will probably have to remove the infection with antivirus software. Registry cleaning programs tend to just search the registry for paths that no longer exist and remove them in an effort to reduce the size. This is where they are inherently dangerous should their code be penetrated.
One program I would recommend for cleaning out malicious software is Malwarebytes, this is pretty much trade recognized and comes as a free and pro version. It is in fact searching for actual malicious code rather than just cleaning leftover remnants of old programs from the Registry.
Once cleaned create restore points. These effectively store copies of much of the registry which can be used to fall back on by restoring to an earlier date.
There are other tools by which you can save out parts of the registry I.E. import and export sections, built in to Regedit, but again I must point out that editing the Registry is a dangerous procedure. I'd read up on Regedit before running it, then run it and examine it without changing anything. The Registry is very large and holds a vast amount of information about the entire system and all programs installed on it.
To run Regedit, simply select Run, or enter 'regedit' in the start up box. BUT BE CAREFUL. |