28 Steps to Freedom from Spyware

This process does not require technical skill. Simply follow these instructions step by step from beginning to end. Share this with family and friends to help them reduce spyware and make their computers run better and faster. Try it... it works.

I developed this process during years of cleaning computers. Some of them were so bad they barely worked. This process will breathe new life into your computer. You may use Spybot or AdAware already. However, all spyware can't be removed from within Windows. This custom process shows you how to take control of your system. It will get your computer clean and make it run fast.

For the best results, this process should be run every week. Join our free reminder service to remind you when a cleaning should be done. Send an email to reminders@spywaregoaway.com

At the end of this procedure you will get free music.

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START OF PROCEDURE ****************************************************
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1. Print out this document. You will need a printed copy. A printer-friendly version without all the pictures is here:

http://www.spywaregoaway.com/spyware/spywarecleaner.doc

2. Start fresh... shut down your computer and start it back up.

3. Hold down the F8 key as your machine is starting up. You are entering Windows differently than usual. You will hear beeps after you've held F8 down for several seconds. Let go once you start hearing the beeps. Give your computer a minute or so and it will come to an Advanced Options menu.

4. The Windows Advanced Options menu tells you different ways to boot into Windows. Use your up and down arrow keys to select Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Be sure it is Safe Mode with Command Prompt as there are a few different Safe Modes. Press Enter to select. Your technical skills are already improving. As a reward you get free music at the end, so hang in there.

5. In the next screen, you will select the Operating System, which will be Windows Vista, XP or 2000 depending on what version your operating system is. Just press Enter on it.

6. You will see a bunch of command lines flash across the screen. This is normal. You are entering Windows differently so it is going to look a little different.

7. After a minute or so you will get a login screen. When the login screen comes select the user that has administrative privilege (probably the account called Administrator). You need to be logged in as Administrator for this to work. If you don't know the password then find out what it is from your Administrator.

8. Once you log in you are taken to a black screen with a command prompt. You are now in Windows Safe Mode with Command Prompt and it looks exactly how it sounds. This is a special environment, a technician's area. You are now at the level of Junior Technician. Be careful, though. Follow the commands below exactly and don't move around too much or do anything extra as the files here can modify your system.

9. At the command prompt, type in:

cd\

and then press Enter.

10. The prompt should now say C:\ This is the root of the file system. You want to be here because now you are going to search your hard drive for files called index.dat.

Index.dat is the poison apple file on your system. It is directly tied to spyware. If you get a lot of these files showing up, you have a lot of poison apples on your computer and that is not good. These files contain web site addresses that communicate with spyware engines. These engines feed the index.dat files and they continue to get bigger and bigger as the spyware takes hold of your system. Gone untreated you will eventually have a problem. That is when your computer starts running slow. That is a simplified explanation, we know, but it is good enough to give you the general idea. You need to delete those files. First let's see how many you have.

11. At the command prompt, type in:

dir index.dat /s

and then press Enter.

12. You will see many of these files. Any over 48KB are related to spyware. You will probably have several on your system. Most folks do. Now we are going to delete them.

13. At the command prompt, type in:

del index.dat /s

and then press Enter. When this is done and the command prompt is showing again, press F3 to repeat the command above and press Enter. This will make sure all of the index.dat files are gone.

You are now at the level of Technician. Great job! You now have the knowledge to help your family and friends, so share it with them.

14. While we are here we are going to get rid of temporary files that are cluttering up your system. You should still be at the C:\ prompt.

15. At the command prompt, type in:

del *.tmp /s

and then press Enter.

Watch the temporary files fly off your system. Temporary files are byproducts of using your computer, remnants of things we have done. Send us a nickel for every file you find. Ha ha. Just kidding. All of these files are slowing down your computer so it is a good thing to get rid of them. Be patient as there are more temporary files than index.dat files, so it may take a few minutes.

16. Once this is done, at the command prompt type:

Exit

and then press Enter.

17. You will now see just a black screen. You need to reboot your computer. You can turn it off and back on OR press Control-Alt-Delete, go to Shutdown, and choose Restart. The latter is actually the better method because it puts less stress on your machine.

18. Let the computer boot up normally. Let it go into Windows.

19. Once you boot into Windows, login with the administrator account you used before or an account you know to be an administrator.

20. Do not go on the Internet right now. We need to clean your registry first. This is critical because it breaks the connection between the spyware engines and the index.dat files. There are several great registry cleaners out there and if you have one then go ahead and use it and skip to Step 28. If not, proceed to the next step.

21. To get a free registry cleaner, do not open your browser. Go to the Start Menu and then go to Run. Type in the following web address.

http://www.spywaregoaway.com/clean.zip

22. The cleaner will begin to download. Save it to your desktop or somewhere easy to find. Open the file after it has finished downloading.

23. Click on the RegSeeker folder.

24. Click on RegSeeker.exe. You will get two warning messages, which is normal. Click on Run each time.

25. The program opens. Go to Clean the Registry.

26. Be sure all of the boxes, even Invalid Services, are checked.

27. Click on Auto Clean. Be sure all of the boxes here are checked. Then click on GO!. Off it will go getting your computer sparkly clean.

28. Let the program run. It will take about 5 minutes. Time for coffee. When it is done an OK message box will pop up. Close the program and you are done. You can now go back online.

There you go... 28 steps to freedom from spyware. Again, you should do this once a week. It is a critical process and does things regular spyware programs do not. As long as you are online, though, you will eventually experience spyware issues again. That just goes with the territory. Keeping your computer clean is just like changing the oil in your car. You have to do it once in a while.

Please remember to share your technical knowledge. The process is complete once you help someone else. Enjoy your much faster computer. If you need more help, setup an appointment with Spyware Man. He can help.

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As we promised, now you can enjoy some free music on your newer, faster computer:

http://www.autorepairnetwork.com/iTunes/

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Have a great day.
:-)

Need more help? Make an appointment with Spyware Man to get help from the best in the business! Courteous and friendly, Spyware Man can help you solve any spyware problem.