Remove a Computer virus - The Steps     Before you make any changes to your system or attempt to remove a computer virus you should save all your documents, photos, anything that is valuable to you onto an external source, such as a USB flash drive, a spare hard drive or burn them onto a CD or DVD. Store them away even if you think they could be infected, they might possibly be so, but you will carefully scan each file later before you put them back onto your computer. Install anti-virus software that is not contaminated, for example one from a CD-ROM. Once this is installed, do a thorough scan of your hard drive. The scan will find the source of the virus and corrupt files and will either make suggestions or actually remove the computer virus for you; this almost always works and will clean your computer. If the virus cannot be removed by your anti-virus software after all this, then there is little else to do but format your hard drive and reinstall your operating system to remove the virus completely. Although this isn’t difficult, it is time consuming; however it WILL wipe out the virus, along with everything else. How to remove a computer virus and install the operating system Before you start, make a note of all the programs installed and your settings so that you can return your computer near to its original state… remember you saved all your valuable documents, photos and the like earlier… if you didn’t, then do it now, because you are going to wipe everything off your computer. Assuming you have windows installed, insert your XP CD and reboot your system…A message“Press any key to boot from CD…” will appear, so do so. The instructions are straight forward, you do not need any technical expertise, just follow along and when you are asked, format using NTFS, this is the recommended choice. You can also take the opportunity at this stage to delete and re-create partitions, creating as many as you wish. After the formatting is complete you will select to install the OS on the primary partition, again simply follow the instructions during the set up. The above will remove the computer virus and leave you with a clean system, so try to keep it that way by ensuring you take the few basic preventative measures outlined below. Once the OS has installed itself do not connect to the internet until you have your anti-virus and firewall installed, then connect to the internet and do a live update of windows and your anti-virus software. After this download the latest drivers for you peripherals, if you haven’t already got them on a disk. Install your hardware, printer / scanner, and your software and drivers. Finally replace all your backed-up files but make sure to scan them carefully first. You have worked through the steps to remove a computer virus, hopefully with success; you now need to take preventative measures to protect your computer. Here are few simple rules to follow… Make sure your settings allow for automatic updates of your operating system, the updates / patches are for your security. Install an Internet firewall or combined anti-virus firewall package. Keep your anti-virus software updated and run it daily. Do not follow any links from your email or open any attachments that come from unknown sources