Virus in the root...?

Few weeks ago my free version of Avast antivirus detected a virus in the “root directory,” I think, so, as recommended, I restarted the computer and the Avast started a scan, but that went so slow I didn’t continue at that time. Now, I can’t find the way to do this again. The virus does not cause any serious trouble, but whenever I restart the computer, all the cookies get erased.

What do I do? Is any free antivirus that can solve this? I can’t recall the name of the virus. Formatting the disc is NOT an option for me at this time.

If you open the Avast UI, go to scan system, there should be a select menu (drop down) at the top that will allow you to choose boot time scan.

:slight_smile:

Virus (and adware, malware) scans take a long time.
They check against every definition for every file in your computer - unless you whitelist some types or limit the folders it scans.
AFAIK any and all AV will take a long time. They may have different interfaces and different definitions, but they all do basically the same thing.

It isn’t something you should need to do while sitting there watching its progess (boring :yawn: )
But for it to do it’s job you do need to let it do it’s thing.

Start the scan when you know you won’t want to be on the computer for a while eg. going to sleep for the night.

Off Topic:

Defrag also takes a long time, but this too is important to do once in a while

I would try running malwarebytes.

MalwareBytes is EXCELLENT at removing even the most tenacious of virii.

Tried this, took me 2 hours or so, it found three things, now I believe it’s ok.

The amount of time it takes the scan to complete depends on both the capacity of the HD, as well as how much data is on the HD. If you have a terabyte drive that is 80% full, you’re prolly going to want to crack open a cold one and watch a movie. :slight_smile:

Glad you got it resolved.

:slight_smile:

i agree with “WolfShade” because boot time scan is one of the best option to remove all kind of viruses. There select delete all viruses and than if it will be present in your system than you may repair your OS. Your all problems might be sol

Why are you choosing a free anti virus. They are not much effective. Use a paid anti virus or take your computer to a professional for solving this issue. But if you can not able to do this, then try MalwareBytes. It is an excellent way to remove virus.