General Removal Instructions

If you suspect your computer or device is infected, or has a suspicious program or file on it,
you can follow these general guide to removing an infection or file. For more specific removal instructions, refer to the individual Threat Description for a specific threat.

Run a full scan: with F-Secure products

If you have an F-Secure product installed, perform a complete scan and removal by following these steps:

  • On a computer running Windows, first make sure you have disabled System Restore.

    Disabling System Restore before removal is recommended to prevent possible re-infection, as it may unintentionally save a backup copy of the suspect file, which will remain even after removal is completed. Check the Microsoft Support site for more instructions on disabling System Restore in Windows 7 and Windows 10.

    Once removal is complete, turning System Restore on again is recommended, so that you can restore the system to a stable and clean state if a crash or incompatibility issue occurs in the future.

  • Launch the F-Secure program and update the definition database.

    It is important to keep the program updated with the latest definition databases so that it can detect the latest threats. Check Instructions for Updating Definition Databases for steps on updating specific products.

  • Run a full system scan.

    For more information on performing a scan with specific versions of F-Secure programs, check the product manual at User Guides.

  • Once completed, follow the removal instructions from the program.
  • If necessary, re-enable System Restore.

Run a full scan: Alternatives

If your computer or device does not have an up-to-date antivirus program install, or does not have an antivirus solution at all, you can try:

Scan with trial version of F-Secure Anti-Virus
  • Download a Trial version of F-Secure Anti-Virus.
  • Install and update with the latest database update.
  • Perform a full system scan.
  • Once completed, follow the disinfection instructions from the program.
Scan with F-Secure Online Scanner

A working Internet connection is required to run the Online Scanner.

The Online Scanner is not a replacement for an antivirus program.

Manual Removal

Manual removal is a risky process; it is recommended only for advanced users.

To manually remove threats (backdoors, worms, trojans, etc.) it is usually enough to delete all infected files from a computer and to restart it. Active malware files are usually locked by the operating system; different removal approaches are required for different operating systems.

Specific threats may have unique manual removal instructions; please see the relevant Threat Description for more details.

Submit a sample to F-Secure Labs

If you suspect a program or file is harmful, or has been incorrectly identified as harmful (a False Positive), please submit a sample of the file to our Labs for analysis via Submit A Sample (SAS).