Win32 Virus Removal

Computers are obvious enablers of development but at some point they too can be a hindrance especially, when they are infected by malware. And in countries like Liberia where computer virus infections are under-reported, the potential for a “digital disaster” if safeguards are not put in place, cannot be overemphasized. In today’s article, I will briefly discuss computer viruses in Liberia, their impact, why they are so commonly found in Liberia, and what we can do to mitigate the problem.

A few weeks ago while I was in Liberia, I had a rather interesting and potentially embarrassing experience as I made preparations to do a presentation at the offices of an international organization located in Monrovia. Since my printer at home had been damaged, I had to run out to one of the “street computer outlets” - several of which are found on Broad Street - to print my document. In trying to multitask, the owner plugged in my USB Flash drive and no sooner did he click on the drive did all of my files -docx, pptx, xls, and other formats -change to executable files. And by the time I figured out what had happened, he had clicked on the one of the files which appeared to be a virus. That action cost me all of my files; including a independent research I had been working on for a month. Fortunately for me, I make it a habit to back up my USB flash drive to my laptop as well as my online Linux servers. So that incident only caused me a moment of inconvenience, but can you imagine what would have happened if I didn’t have backup copies?

For those of you who are not IT folks, a computer virus is a computer program designed to disrupt a computer’s intended performance. Part of that unwanted performance includes the replication of the virus to other computers via files, programs, flash-disks and attachments. These viruses come in several different forms but essentially have the same impact; to exploit the vulnerabilities of software (operating systems and applications). These viral infections may happen because of poorly written software, pirated/infected copies of an operating system especially Microsoft Windows, or the inability to apply necessary security measures on computers and networks. When computers get infected they drastically slow down computing, corrupt files, spontaneously reboot computers, and clog already slow Internet connections. Basically, a computer virus can cause a major reduction in productivity and efficiency, and more severely, the loss of money.

In Liberia most of the viruses found are “old” viruses; they are viruses that currently have removal and prevention mechanisms that work against them. These viruses are mostly spread by the seemingly “ubiquitous” use of USB flash drives from computer to computer. What is most scary is that some of these USB flash drives are used in banks, government and other offices where “mission-critical” applications and files are housed!

The primary inspiration for writing this article today is to raise awareness among computer users and business owners, especially our brothers who make their living by running “computer outlets” or “street stationery stores”, and are probably unaware of their contribution to this problem. Many of these business owners probably attended computer schools that merely taught them how to use MS Office, basic computer literacy skills, and very little if any time, on antivirus and other security software. This lack of security literacy has become obvious and detrimental to all of us.

Methinks most of the computers in Liberia with the exception of those computers owned by visitors, is infected with some kind of malware. The problem is serious and therefore we must try to make some kind of effort to alleviate it since we obviously can’t eradicate it. Unlike Western countries, which have some means to at least, “partially” if not fully neutralize computer viruses and their threats, we in Liberia have limited resources and capacity to do so. Hence, we have become a “repository” for many forms of malware. The lack of antivirus systems, network bandwidth to download large updates from the websites of antivirus companies, funding to pay for updates, an ecommerce system to make online payments for updates using credit cards, and most importantly, a comprehensive IT education or literacy program are factors that have contributed to Liberia becoming a “virus repository.”

So how do we handle this problem? As I mentioned earlier, there are several factors responsible for the problems we currently face. A high speed Internet connection can help us with fast and frequent downloads of virus definitions and updates; IT schools can gravitate toward a more hands-on approach to teaching basic IT security skills; and policies should be set and enforced by organizations to restrict the use of portable media that might be the conduit, if not the catalyst for virus distribution. But most importantly and in the interim, we must commence a national awareness campaign; (hope this article is seen as an effort) that provides computer safety tips for stakeholders. This might be difficult since there’s no active national ICT organization that could take on this initiative and provide “free” education and free antivirus software on portable disks to the public” to ensure safe computing practices. Worst of all, there’s no entity that I know of that monitors things like the impact of computer viruses on the country. Should we wait for a more serious tragedy to occur first before we act?

In the absence of what I have mentioned above, I urge all computer users who may be impacted by this article to begin to take some preventive measures to alleviate the spread of computer viruses or malware in Liberia. We can begin by ensuring that antivirus software is installed on our computers before using them for commercial and non-commercial purposes. And since we have network bandwidth limitations, we can have those privileged to have better Internet access download free updated virus definitions and store them on portable media for distribution. This is ideal for a country like Liberia considering that the daily updates from antivirus companies like Symantec can be too large and can take prolonged periods of time to download. Note that free antivirus software like AVG and Avast are mostly for non-commercial uses and one would be in direct violation of their terms of condition if one installed it on a computer that is used for commercial purposes. Hence, when looking for free antivirus solutions, make sure you have one that addresses your needs.

Finally, during my several years in the ICT field, I have tried and used several antivirus solutions including those from: Symantec, Kaspersky, Clamwin, McAfee, Rising Avast and AVG antivirus. Candidly speaking and in my opinion, I have yet to see one that is one hundred percent effective. I have not seen an antivirus software that is a “magic bullet” in the fight against viruses. So, the best defense is education! Another alternative is to make sure that you back up all of your files as frequently as you can. Now, in my case, I often use a multi-platform (Windows, Linux, and Mac) work environment and back up my files to my Linux server. Call me a fanatic but when folks are complaining about virus infections on Windows platforms, my Linux or Mac computers continue to be online. Obviously I don’t expect folks in Liberia to follow this example. But the best things to do are to ensure that you back up your files all the time and install updated antivirus software, be it free or commercial.

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