Software of the Week: Combofix

Ok, I have to give props to the guys at Bleeping Computer and sUBS for Combofix.  I have had to use it twice this week and both times it has come to my rescue.  If you have never heard of Combofix, check it out.  It's pretty sweet (and free, so that makes it all the more awesome).  Combofix is a tool that will scan and help remove malware for Windows. It supports the modern Windows Operating Systems back to Windows XP.  And uses the Windows Recovery Console for part of the repair.

If you don't have the Windows Recovery Console installed, no problem Combofix will download and install it for you.  If you have an outdated version of the Windows Recovery Console then it will be updated by Combofix too.  Both computers I used it on were running XP (one was XP Home and one was XP Pro).  The scan took close to 10 minutes on each computer and so far has resolved both malware issues those computers were encountering.

Combofix is a powerful tool and shouldn't be used just for testing.  If you are having malware issues always be sure to do your homework for your situation and remember no two malware removal processes are the same.  Combofix can help, but ultimately you are accountable.  If malware removal is beyond your comfort zone, do then safe thing and take your computer to a professional (or your local computer geeks house).  And if you need more info on Combofixmornthe folks at Bleeping Computer, start here:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix