Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition Reports Your Windows Computer is Infected

A Virus Alert message reports "Clean Failed - Quarantine Failed - Action Left Alone Succeeded." Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition displays alert reports for viruses found. Symantec will report what virus it finds and what action it takes to deal with it.

If you see a "Left Alone" status that was reported by a manual or scheduled scan, this is a result of an actual infection.

To be able to successfully remove viruses, you must boot your computer into a special mode that will prevent any viruses from being activated. Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition cannot remove viruses that have been activated.

Step 1: Turn off System Restore (Windows XP only)

System Restore lets you return your computer to a previous state. If you install a program and there are problems, you can use System Restore to revert to a state before the problems started. This is also protected by Windows so that other programs cannot modify it. If a restore point is created while your computer has a virus, then Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition cannot remove it. Additionally, if you restore the computer to that point, your computer will be infected with the virus. If you do not know how to turn off System Restore, detailed information is available on this CD at sysrestoreoff.html.

Step 2: Start computer with minimal drivers and services:

  1. Click Start
  2. Click Run
  3. Type msconfig and click OK
  4. Chose Diagnostic Startup - load basic devices and service only
  5. click Apply button
  6. click OK
  7. Click the Close button
  8. Click the Restart button to restart the computer.

After reboot you'll see a message about "You have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows starts". Click OK (NOTE: There is a check box to not see the message again--leave it unchecked). The System Configuration Utility will open, click the Cancel button (or you'll get another restart prompt).

Step 3: Clear web cache

Your web browser stores recently visited web pages in a cache directory on your hard disk, so that you can return quickly to the page without requesting it from the original server. When you hit the "Reload" button, your browser compares the cached page with the current page out on the network, and updates your local version if necessary. However, these web pages are still on your computer even when you are not browsing the Internet. Viruses frequently lurk in these cache files. Clear out the cache and remove these viruses.

  1. Click on Start
  2. Click on Settings
  3. Click on Control Panel
  4. Click on Network and Internet Connections
  5. Click on Internet Options
  • On the General tab there is a section labeled Temporary Internet files. Click on the Delete Files button, click in the check box Delete all offline content, then click OK. This will take a long time to complete if this is the first time you have done this and you have used your computer for a long time.

To prevent cache build-up in the future, click on the Advance tab. Scroll down until you find the security section. Check mark Do not save encrypted pages to disk and Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed. Click the Apply button and then click the OK button.

If you use a web browser other than Internet Explorer, clear the cache from that browser as well.

Step 4: Getting Rid of Unwanted Files

Any file you delete remains on your computer until you empty the recycle bin. This allows you to recover from 'I didn't mean to delete that' errors. To achieve this, Windows protects the contents of the Recycle Bin from modification by other programs. Some viruses are written to take advantage of this protection and hide in the recycle bin.

  1. Using the right mouse button, click on the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop
  2. Select Empty Recycle Bin from the menu
  3. Click on Yes to confirm you want to delete the items

Step 5: Clean your Computer

  1. Click on Start, click on Programs, click on the Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition folder, click on Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition.
  2. In the left Window of the program, find the item Scan. If there is a + in front of it, click on the +.
  3. Click on Scan Computer
  4. In the Scan Computer screen on the right side you will see a list of all the drives to which your computer is connected.
  5. Click in the boxes next to your local hard drives (usually C: and D:) to scan.
  6. Click on the Scan button at the lower right of screen to begin scanning your local hard drive(s).
  7. The program will summarize findings after the scan is complete. These findings are stored in the Histories section on the main Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition page.
  • The Histories topic in the left pane contains a scan history, a virus history and an events schedule log for your computer.
  • Check here for the exact name of any viruses found. Verify at the Symantec web site to be sure all effects of any viruses found have been removed. NOTE: Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition cannot remove the registry modifications made by the viruses, instructions can be found at http://www.symantec.com/avcenter.

Finishing Up

Once you are sure all viruses have been removed from your computer, if you have Windows ME or XP, then you should turn System Restore back on.

On Windows 98, ME, and XP run msconfig again, selecting normal startup. Restart your computer when prompted.

If your computer is still behaving in a 'strange' manner, it could have browser helper objects, spyware or adware causing the odd behavior. This is not virus activity and Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition cannot correct these issues.

If you have problems call the HelpLine at 5700.