DOS Can Help Kill Stubborn Virus/Rogue File

Learn Some of the Old Ways

Recently, I received a call from an old friend and former workmate with a tech support question related to virus removal. He was very concerned that Norton's virus detection software found a back door virus in the Microsoft Windows, but was unable to access  the file to access or quarantine it.

That's a common problem with Windows if the infected file is actually in use by the operating system. It's a lot like a puppy trying to catch its own tail and ends up going in circles. The easiest way to solve that problem is to restart your computer in the "safe" mode or restart and continue to strike the "F8" key as the computer restarts.

Eventually, you will see a screen asking you how you want to proceed by going into the safe mode, the normal mode or several flavors of pseudo DOS. Select "Safe" and your computer will go into Windows but not load any startup programs, file or drivers.

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