This aim of the Malware Removal Starter Kit is to provide reactive guidance and prescriptive steps to help you recover a computer that has been exposed to malicious software.

It is important to understand that no process can guarantee a full recovery from the damage that malicious software can do. For this reason, there is no substitute for solid defenses and reliable backup and recovery processes. In this way, if the worst does happen and you have to rebuild the computer, the impact will be minimized.

Malware will often target a computer’s operating system. The Windows operating system has been a significant target for a number of years due to its popularity. However, more recently malicious software that specifically targets other operating systems has been on the rise.

In addition, many malware programs also target Microsoft and third-party applications, and in some cases even antivirus software. For these reasons, it is important to keep both the operating system and the applications that you use up to date.

Although most malware attacks are aimed at personal computers, they are not the only targets. Mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable game systems, and even cell phones have become targets.

Some malware requires the installation of a particular application on the target computer before it can work. A huge number of Internet scams and phishing attacks have made the user of the computer a target to install such applications.

In many cases it is easier to trick a user into running a piece of malware than it is to develop an automatic mechanism. For this reason it is important to invest time in training staff and managers to recognize likely Internet scams and phishing attempts.

If you do use the recovery steps in this guide, we recommend spending some time after the computer is fixed to investigate how the malicious software was introduced to it.

This effort should attempt to learn how the problem was introduced rather than trying to find something or someone to blame. If the weakness was with a technical defense measure, such as a firewall or antivirus program, you can review it and update the measure as required.

If the problem was introduced because of the actions of staff, additional training may be required to ensure the problem is not repeated. Remember the golden rule: “Prevention is better than cure.”

Finally, while this guide is specifically written to help IT Generalists repair computers attacked by malware in small- to medium-sized organizations, much of this information is valuable for protecting the home computers that belong to you and your staff.

You can use these tools in combination with the kit to conduct scans, detect problems, and remove malware from your computer.