Friday, May 21, 2010

Five Reasons Why I Would Never Remove Malware Manually - And Why Neither Should You!

I often get asked whether you are able to remove malware manaully from your computer for free. Is it possible to get under the hood of your PC and remove a nasty piece of malware yourself?

 

The answer to that question is a hesitant "yes". With that said, even so, I quickly follow that up with "but I would never do that!". This article looks at five reasons why you ought to invest in a reputable anti-malware tool and why you ought to avoid giving a hack at it yourself.

 

One: The Registry is a Scary Place

If you're a bit of a computer whizz and spend several your time programming and reading code, then this probably does not utilize to you. For the rest of us less gifted, then this reason is at the top of the list.

 

Normally you would uninstall unwanted programs from your computer using the control panel, right? Malware does not make this that easy. To remove malware manually, you need to enter your computer's holiest of holies: the Registry. While the process itself isn't all that hard, a small mistake can fry your computer.

 

Unless you're a programmer-by-day, computer hobbyist by night then mucking about in the Registry is worth avoiding at any cost.

 

Two: What Are You Removing?

Even if you've identified the original threat, there may nonetheless be huge amounts of malware nonetheless left on your PC. for instance, Trojans work by carrying other malware threats onto your PC with them, or alternatively downloading them off the Internet without your knowledge. While it is great that you've removed the Trojan, what other malware threats have slipped onto your computer?

 

Simply put, removing multiple malware threats manually can take an incredibly long time, with a lot of malware threats setting up a breadcrumb trail that can be very hard to follow.

 

Three: Your Time Is Valuable

If you've had a lot of malware infections simultaneously, there could be literally hundreds of file modifications, registry keys and registry values that you will need to laboriously locate and remove if you are looking to remove malware manually.

 

While this surely has the advantage of being free, do not forget that your time is money too!

For me, the $40.00 that you will need to shell out for an anti-malware tool that will solve your problem in ten minutes flat is by far the more economical option instead of spending your valuable time trying to manually remove malware  - the math just does not work out.

 

Four: Ongoing Protection

Congratulations! You've spent four hours removing a Trojan manually from your PC. You've also identified and removed some adware and a backdoor application, too. But what happens tomorrow when the remnants of the Trojan kick back in and download additional malware application onto your PC? How far will your patience stretch? Would you be up for additional mini-marathon removing nevertheless additional viral threat off your PC?

 

among the best things about a reputable anti-malware tool is that not only do the good ones remove malware, they also prevent you from contracting malware in the first place. That means not only will your PC be malware free, it also means that you will be protected in the future.

 

Five: Smart folks Use The Professionals

Your computer is a valuable asset. it is cost you several money. Trying to remove malware from your computer manually is like changing your own brakes on your car. Unless you are a car mechanic, chances are you'd never dream of changing your own brakes - you'd just take your car to the garage, right?

 

So why is it any different for your computer? Unless you're an advanced or professional computer user, then leave malware removal up to the pro tools - it is not worth the headache, hassle and potential disaster trying to remove malware manually unless you are exactly sure what you are doing.

 

While it is able to be very tempting to save a couple of dollars and attempt to remove malware manually, it seldom benefits the person trying to do it. Not only will you be beating your head against a wall for a couple of hours (with no guarantees, remember!), you'll also potentially hurt your computer, leave yourself vulnerable for other infections and perhaps miss other malware threats already on your PC.

 

When it comes to keeping your computer malware free, you are able to't scrimp. A reputable anti-malware tool is among the best ongoing investments that you are able to make for your PC and the sting of $40 will soon be forgotten as you experience - perhaps for the first time in a long time - the power of a computer that is clean from all malware threats.

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