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1) Disable System Restore. (Windows ME/XP only)

• Windows ME:
  1. Right click the My Computer icon on the Desktop and click on Properties.
  2. Click on the Performance tab.
  3. Click on the File System button.
  4. Click on the Troubleshooting tab.
  5. Put a check mark next to 'Disable System Restore'.
  
• Windows XP:
  1. Right click the My Computer icon on the Desktop and click on Properties.
  2. Click on the System Restore tab.
  3. Put a check mark next to 'Turn off System Restore on All Drives'.
  After you do the above, click the 'OK' button. You will be prompted to restart the computer. Click Yes.

2) Remove Temporary Files. (Windows 98/ME/2K/XP Only)

1. Left Double click the My Computer icon on the desktop
2. Right click the C: drive in My Computer and click on Properties
3. Click on the Disk Cleanup Button.
4. When prompted to select 'files to delete', Put a check mark in all checkboxes EXCEPT 'Compress Old Files'.
5. Click the OK button.

3) Download, install and execute Ad-Aware from Lavasoft
Lavasoft Ad-Aware is an application that removes malicious adware and spyware on your computer.

1. Go to http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/ and download the full install of Ad-aware.
2. Install Ad-Aware. Once you do so, Click on 'Ad-Aware 6' Located on the desktop.
3. You now must update Ad-Aware, since the install file is not updated. Click on 'Check For Updates Now' once Ad-Aware is started.
4. Click on 'Connect' on the Webupdate window. Repeat until Ad-Aware does not need updated and is current.

• When it asks if you want to update to the latest Reference-file, Click OK.
• If it says "No Updated Components Available", Then it does not need updated and is current. Click OK.
• If it never pops up a dialog box and immediately says "Webupdate complete", check your Internet Connection. You will need to download and install the Latest reference file manually if you do not receive the above two messages, since some spyware blocks Ad-Aware from obtaining updates in order to protect themselves. You can download the Latest Reference File from the Lavasoft website in a zip file, unzip the file, and copy the unzipped reflist.ref file into the folder where you installed Ad-Aware (usually C:\Program Files\Lavasoft\Ad-aware 6)

5. Click Finish once the update is complete. Do not continue further unless the update was successful, or you manually installed the update.
6. Once you have downloaded the update, press the 'Start' Button located in the lower Right corner of Ad-Aware.
7. Select the option 'Use Custom Scanning Options' Click Customize and in the Scan Setting Dialog box, make sure that all options in the 'Memory and Registry' settings are check marked (Green) and press proceed. Once you customize the scan, Verify that the In Depth Scan is Check marked (green) and Press Next.
8. Ad-Aware will now perform the adware scan. When scanning is complete Press Next.
9. If spyware is found, Right click on the list of spyware that ad-aware found, then click on 'Select all Items' Then Click Next.
10. Ad-aware should them attempt to remove the offending software from your computer. If Ad-aware prompts you to run the scan on startup, click on 'Yes' and repeat this process at step 8.

4) Scan and remove viruses Using F-Secure.
If you have a different Virus scanner, follow the documentation that came with your virus scanner to scan all hard disks for viruses.

1. Click on the 'Start button, located in the lower Left hand corner of the screen.
2. Click on Programs, or 'All Programs' if you are using Windows Xp
3. Click on 'F-Secure Anti Virus' and then click 'Scan all local hard disks'
4. F-Secure will now proceed to scan your PC for viruses. If Prompted to select the action to remove the virus, select Delete Automatically
5. Restart the PC

5) Reverse the steps taken in step 1, and re-enable System Restore.