How to reset the computer to get rid of spyware.

Question

hi, my computer is full of spy ware and i dont want to buy any anti-spyware programs so i want to reset my whole computer. i have the windoes start up disks and have already saved all my important files into a cd. my question is what should i do after this?! what are the procedure in resetting my computer?!

Answer

This question was answered on March 15, 2006. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

Install your operating system, windows xp again. Don't do a reinstall, install the operating system as if you are starting over. Go ahead and format the hard drive, that will erase the hard drive. Once you insert the windows xp cd, it will walk you through the process. Just make sure your computer is set to boot from cd. While starting your computer, hit esc or delete or F1 or the other command keys that should take you to you bios. Check under boot order to make sure your cd is listed first.

This should be done yearly anyway.

Then after you have windows xp installed, download microsoft anti spyware from microsoft.com and run it weekly or whenever you need it. It is free.

Author

Posted by kara of Chandler-Gilbert Community College on March 15, 2006