Windows Virus Troubleshooting

Last Updated: May 24, 2026 | Published: Feb 25, 2014 | Gainful Employment

Fix Windows Laptop

This post is a bit dated and is flagged for review.

If your laptop is running poorly, that may be an indication of malware infection.

Performance issues such as:

  • Slow computer performance, both Internet speed and file access speed.
  • Configuration changes are made without your knowledge, such as wallpaper and screensaver.
  • Additional programs or ads have been installed.
  • Parts of your computer, like the control panel or other settings, are unavailable to you.
  • You get new files or shortcuts to files.
  • Your antivirus is disabled or displaying a large number of error messages.

Troubleshooting Steps

I'm always hesitant to spend too much time on a computer when I'm engaging in Windows virus troubleshooting.

The better practice is to wipe your hard drive and reload your OS if your machine exhibits symptoms of a virus. However, If you wish to tackle the virus or other malware these general tips should remove most baddies.

  1. Click Start and type msconfig.
  2. Under the Startup tab, check the list for strange processes, such as strange words or a series of numbers (like superprogram.exe or 12345.exe). Uncheck these so they do not start when Windows starts.
  3. Run ComboFix. You may need to run CF in safe mode.
  4. Install and update Malwarebytes from the definitions file. You may need to install or run MBAM in safe mode.
  5. Install and update Spybot from the definitions file. You may need to install or run Spybot in safe mode. Just a scan is fine.
  6. Run FixIEDef, CWShredder, and AIMFix.
  7. Run HijackThis. Remove all no-name BHOs and other no-name objects.

Note: Many anti-viruses have a recovery disc or some type of option to run a scan prior to loading Windows. Feel free to run this scan after the above steps. Additionally, if Windows is exhibiting weird errors, you can also repair the Windows installation by booting to the recovery environment ('F8' on Vista and above) or by using MS DART (ERD Commander).

Another Note: Live recovery USBs are amazing. I have way too much fun finding ways to include a virtual garage on a stick (instead of toolbox, haha). Before USB bootloaders and installer packages became popular, ahem - YUMI Multiboot USB Creator, I used to customize my own menus and packages. Good times.

Practicle Example: How to Remove Delta Search Malware

I ran into this a bit ago and quickly found this thing to be very nasty! If you're looking for how to remove the delta search malware, you've come to the right place.

This guide is for all major Windows versions. Once Delta Search is installed on your computer, this thing hijacks your browsers' (all of them!) homepage and replaces your default search engine. If that wasn't bad enough you will see popups and other ads in your search results. Your search queries may also be datamined.

You may find there more baddies under the Delta Search install. Be sure to uninstall everything: BrowserProtect, Delta Chrome Toolbar, Delta toolbar, Mixi.DJ, and Yontoo.

Uninstall Delta Search+

Windows Vista/7:

  1. Start menu
  2. Type program in the Search box
  3. Click on Uninstall a program
  4. Select the program and Uninstall

Windows XP:

  1. Start menu
  2. Click Control Panel
  3. Click Add or Remove programs
  4. Select the program and click on Remove button

Windows 8:

  1. Right click Metro UI
  2. Select All apps
  3. Click Control Panel
  4. Click Uninstall a program
  5. Select the program and Uninstall

Remove Redirect From All Browsers

Internet Explorer:

  1. Open browser
  2. Hit Alt+T
  3. Click Manage Add-ons
  4. Click Toolbars and Extensions
  5. Disable unwanted toolbar
  6. Click Search Provider
  7. Remove delta-search.com
  8. Hit Alt+T
  9. Select Internet Options
  10. Open General tab
  11. Change home page
  12. Apply to save

Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open browser
  2. Hit Ctrl+Shift+A
  3. Click on Extensions
  4. Remove Delta Search
  5. Hit Alt+H
  6. Go to Troubleshooting Information to remove delta-search.com from home page
  7. Click Reset Firefox
  8. Click Reset Firefox a second time
  9. Click Finish

Google Chrome:

  1. Open browser
  2. Hit Alt+F
  3. Go to Tools – > Extensions
  4. Remove unwanted toolbar
  5. Click Settings
  6. Under On startup, click Open a specific page or set of pages
  7. Click Set pages
  8. Remove unwanted startup page and add a preferable one
  9. Hit OK
  10. Under Search, click Manage search engines
  11. Remove unwanted search engine and set a preferable one
  12. Click Make default on entry
  13. Hit OK

Delete the Residuals

Navigate to the 2 folders below and delete them:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\babsolution

C:\ProgramData\browserdefender

Run Everything!

Lastly, run all scanners and cleaners to make sure this crap is gone.

  1. Remove leftover registry files with Adaware and/or ccleaner
  2. Run your anti-virus scanner like MSE, Kaspersky, AVG, etc.
  3. Run anti-malware scanners like MBAM, Combofix, Hitman Pro, etc.

That's how to remove delta search malware. How did you fare?

Checking Windows Installation Dates

If you are a shop that requires a wipe and reload, here's how to check the Windows installation dates on all major Windows versions.

Windows Installation Dates Across Major Versions

Windows 8

1. Go to Search charm, usually right side of screen

2. Search for cmd

3. Select Command Prompt

4. Type systeminfo and hit enter

Related: If you need to reinstall Windows 8, here's a quick Windows 8.1 checklist.

Windows 7/Vista

1. Click Start

2. Click inside the search box

3. Type systeminfo and hit enter

Note: On older builds you may have to use the word "original" or "install date" - systeminfo | find /i “original”.

Related: Here's a step-by-step guide on installing Windows 7.

Windows XP Pro and Home

1. Click Start

2. Click Run

3. Type systeminfo and hit enter (hcp://system/sysinfo/sysinfomain.htm for XP Home edition, then view the status of my system hardware and software under System Software. The OS is listed with the install date under Date Created)

Other Fun Methods of Finding this Info

I got most of these other solutions listed below from the folks that contributed to this post about finding the Windows install time at Stack Overflow.

Registry Key

  • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\InstallDate

The value is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970. If you want a super easy way to convert this number into something usable, paste this decimal value in the UNIX TimeStamp field at this Unix Time Conversion tool.

PowerShell

In Windows a PowerShell prompt type the following:

  • PS > $os = get-wmiobject win32_operatingsystem
  • PS > $os.ConvertToDateTime($os.InstallDate) -f "MM/dd/yyyy"

WMI

You can also use WMI, or Windows Management Instrumentation by using this command:

  • wmic os get installdate

If you don't use this, you can read the registry value and then convert the information. Type this into a PowerShell prompt:

  • PS > $path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion'
  • PS > $id = get-itemproperty -path $path -name InstallDate
  • PS > $d = get-date -year 1970 -month 1 -day 1 -hour 0 -minute 0 -second 0
  • ## add to hours (GMT offset)
  • ## to get the timezone offset programatically:
  • ## get-date -f zz
  • PS > ($d.AddSeconds($id.InstallDate)).ToLocalTime().AddHours((get-date -f zz)) -f "MM/dd/yyyy"

There you have it. Multiple ways to check Windows installation dates. Which one is your favorite?

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