How do I get rid of a virus on my laptop?

[Expertbrush984]

Plus HD 2.2 somehow got onto my computer a whiiiilllleee ago. I knew it was an unwanted program, but didn't know it was the one causing the ads and whatnot. So i tried to delete it a few months ago by going to control panel- programs- and uninstall. But it windows wanted to uninstal it all manually with this full scan where my computer turned black with white letters. I was fine with that as it was going to get rid of the PUP, but it was taking WAAYY too long and i had home work i really needed to do. So I stopped the scan.

Now the virus is really bad and i understand my mistake in not getting rid of it sooner. I can't simply go to Uninstall a program and uninstall it. It doesn't work. Nothing happens. What can I do to get rid of it? I tried Windows Defender scan but nothing happened, it just said "Scan complete". I am not super good with computers that i trust myself with a bunch of command prompts but I am skilled enough to try other things.

I have Avast Antivirus on my computer, and whenever I go on a website it says "Malware blocked" But, really, it is not blocked as I see all the ads and the site does not work properly. Also, whenever I open Google Chrome, another page opens up with the harmful website caused by the virus. I always just close that window but it is extremely annoying and unsafe.

I use Windows 7 with Intel core i5 on a Vaio computer if that is any difference. Please help me and (PLEASE) if there is a non-complicated way I'd love to hear it.

[Harley Drive]

sounds like you have a rootkit virus , go to http://www.bleepingcomputer.com for the solution you will need malwarebytes and possibly combofix to deal with it

[Will]

Try using AVG security service.

[Pearl L]

run an antivirus

[tumbleweed_biff]

To deal with pop-ups, I suggest a browser extension like AdBlock Plus.

Following is my guide to removing viruses:
Top 3 free AV products
Avast
Avira
AVG

Best Paid:
My recent survey of several independent testing labs shows Kaspersky and BitDefender as the top 2 paid AV products.

How to remove a virus -
I) The best solution is to back up your data and perform a factory restore. Install a reputable AV program after the restore and download the latest updates before restoring your data.

II) That not being practical for many, try either of the next two methods:
(Please note that it is important to use one of these two methods as you need to boot and scan knowing that no viruses are already in memory. If you try and install an AV product on a machine already infected then there is a decent chance that the virus will be able to hide/relocate from the scanner.)

A)
1) On a clean computer, download 1 or more free bootable AV products. Five I know of are Avira, AVG, Avast, Kaspersky, and G Data. Often referred to as a Rescue Disc.

(There is a handy product called sardu (http://www.sarducd.it) which will create a flash drive/Cd capable of having multiple AV products built into it. It isn't perfect yet, but it does do the job pretty well. I keep a copy on a flash drive for whenever I go to someone's house to help with computer problems and I have a number of other diagnostic tools included as well.)

2) Create the bootable media and include the latest virus definitions
3) Boot the infected/suspect computer by using the bootable media and run a full/complete/deep scan of the computer using preferably at least two different ones. No AV product gets them all, but 2 different products should find and remove just about anything.

B) Alternative method:
1) remove the hard drive from the infected computer
2) slave the drive to a clean computer which already has at least one AV product already installed with the most current definitions. You can do this by installing it into the case (for a desktop) or by putting the drive in an external drive case which you can get for the low teens $. These can be USB (get at least USB 2.0) or eSata - if the 2nd computer has an eSata connection.

3) From the clean machine, run a full/complete scan of the slaved hdd. The computer should already be booted when you connect the external drive, with the AV product already in residential memory (it will have an icon down next to the clock). Then open the AV and run it on the drive. In an ideal world, you should really use two different AV products.

III) If you are unable to do the above, then download and install an AV product and then run it at its deepest level scan. This is not the ideal method as many viruses can hide from AV products if they are already in memory and running before the AV software is executed. There are numerous free ones. I strongly recommend two different AV products and one Adware/Spyware product. For free AV, I would typically recommend Avira, AVG, or Avast as the installed resident (always running) AV solution and Malwarebytes as a secondary, on demand AV product which I run on a weekly basis. For Spyware and Adware, the two top performers there are AdAware (Lavasoft.com) and Spybot Search and Destroy (safer-networking.org) Both offer a free and paid version. The free version is good, the paid version offers more bells and whistles, just like with the AV products.

Once the virus(es) is/are removed, change any and all passwords having to do with anything important like e-mail, financial-banking logins, etc. as those have probably been captured and sent to the author of the virus.

[Julia]

Do NOT use AVG. A lot of people do not know this, but AVG encompasses spyware and adware. They will hijack your browser, store files all over your computer, re install when you uninstall, etc. I had AVG for a while and finally got rid of it by manually uninstalling it and deleting the files myself when it started to cause me problems.

This is what I use to deal with malware/spyware/adware/viruses:

I use Avast! free antivirus as my main antivirus.

I use Revo Uninstaller to uninstall any suspicious programs that I have not intentionally downloaded (it will not only uninstall but delete all files left behind by these programs to ensure they are gone)

Remove all suspicious extensions from your browser.

I also run MalwareBytes, ADWcleaner, and SuperAntiSpyware(sounds sketchy I know but it's actually very good) all the free editions. The reason for having several different pieces of software to deal with malware and adware is that each company has a different database of known adware and malware. So your infection may only be treatable by one of the softwares above. I run full scans of all of these programs multiple times. The first series of scans eliminates rootkits and malicious programs that cover up where the viruses are hidden. The next series of scans works to peel off layer by layer until the core virus is found and finally deleted.

When your browser gets hijacked, it's also a good idea to run HijackThis.

This method has always worked for me, even on really tough viruses/malware/adware that you just can't seem to get rid of.

Some other good programs that I have not used but are worth looking at it Junkware Removal Tool, Spybot search and destroy, Hitman Pro, (all free editions)

[Boss]

Try AVG.