Clean Windows viruses with Norton Power Eraser

Security is a major concern in the Windows world and Windows users are constantly being told how many viruses there are, how infectious they are, and how you'll be infected within seconds of connecting to the internet unless you have the latest security software that's updated every minute, and even then you'll probably get infected. It's true that there are a lot of viruses, but I regularly use Windows PCs on the internet without any security software and nothing bad has happened. So where are all these nasty viruses? I wouldn't actually advise using PCs without protection, because there's always a risk, no matter how slight. A few free tools are all you need to keep safe on the web and Symantec has just released one to add to your security toolkit called Norton Power Eraser.

Norton Power Eraser is does not prevent malware from infecting the computer and it is purely a cleanup tool. It's an odd one because Symantec describes it as "a last-resort, extreme tool that may help you cleanup special types of security risks." I'm not sure why it's an extreme tool or why it should be used as a last resort.

If you think that your PC might be infected with malware, then download the program and run it (better still, download it and keep a copy on a CD or somewhere safe so it's ready to use). Click the Scan button and when it has finished it will display a list of malware that has been detected and/or suspicious files.

An interesting feature of this program is that it lists suspicious files and then allows you to upload them for further testing by Symantec. Presumably the company has a more comprehensive malware checker online. You get the result straight away, so you'll know within seconds if it really is malware or not.

It's free, so go ahead and download it. Add it to your toolkit of malware removal tools.