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This is the second part of a series on computer viruses. And if you haven’t listened to the first one, go check out Anatomy of a Virus now, because what I’m about to say will make a whole lot more sense if you do!

In my last episode, I mentioned that when you suspect you have a virus, the best fix is to turn off your computer completely. If the power to your computer is off, the virus can’t do any damage. But at some point, you will have to turn your computer on to delete the virus and take back control of your system.

In today’s episode, I’ll walk you through how to do just that! One thing to keep in mind: This method is somewhat complicated and involves many steps, but in most cases it is a surefire way to eliminate any malware from your system with only minor headaches.

How to Eliminate Viruses From Your System

Step 1 - Most of the time, a computer virus can’t run without your operating system running as well. This is the case with Linux, Mac, and Windows machines. As long as you don’t start your operating system, the virus remains essentially frozen, and has no way to hide, fight back, or transmit information. The goal here is to freeze the virus so you can find it, delete it, and move on with your life.

There are a number of tools that will give you this power over the virus. My favorite is the operating system that will run on a CD/DVD or a USB stick designed by the brilliant software engineers at Kaspersky Lab. And luckily for all of us, Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 is available for FREE

Once you download this software, the helpful guide on the site will give you step by step instructions on how to turn a USB drive or a CD/DVD into a virus killing machine!

I won’t go over how to do this step-by-step, but if you are having any problems, stop by the Tech Talker Facebook page where we will be having a discussion on people’s experiences with this program.

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