HijackThis! Download and Application
Instructions
Click for Video
WARNING: HijackThis! is
a program for ADVANCED USERS ONLY!!! If
you are not well experienced with
computers and the windows registry then
you should not use this program so as to
avoid possibly causing irreparable
damage to your programs/windows installation.
HijackThis! is a program
originally designed to delete registry
entries that would repeatedly change (eg:
Hijack) your web browsers home page. It
has since evolved into a program that
can delete not only web browser related
entries but also startup and run command
entries as well.
The program can be found
in our downloads areas under both
9x and
NTB sections.
To run the program:
Click on the download
button and select "save as". Save it to
an easy to remember folder. (desktop is
usually a good location) Alternatively
you can also just click 'Run'. However,
if you do this, you will not be able to
save any backup files that will allow
you to revert to your previous settings,
should you mess something up.
Upon opening the program
you will see an important warning before
the program opens. Click OK to proceed.
If you ran HijackThis straight from the
website (chose "Run" instead of "Save
As") you will see a second warning. Click OK
here too to proceed.
Now HijackThis will
open. The interface is simple. Click
"Scan" to scan your system.
After you've run the
scan you will see a list of all the
registry entries that HijackThis! has found. DO NOT
CHECK ALL OF THE FILES FOUND!!! This is
extremely important as important
programs may not function properly if
you're not careful. Check any files that
have an strange set of numbers and/or
characters in their
name. (ex: a file with a name like:
http://www.502-398-106-834.com
or www.ΦЁτϋЦеθнУқЗύφΟШСйрѓҗ.com)
Many entries are
recognizable by looking at the string to
for their name/pathname/command
parameters: (eg: HKCU..Run:[MSMSGS] "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background is a startup command that
starts windows messenger.)
As the program states,
if you're not sure about an entry, it's
best to save a log file and show it to
people who know what it is.
After you have checked
all suspicious files click "Fix Checked"
to delete the checked files.
After that you're done!
Close out HijackThis! and continue on
your way.
