First of all, people don't get viruses unless they either go to porn, or download things from the wrong places (and run those executables)... Secondly, antivirus software is useless in my opinion. How do you define a virus? How do you tell between a virus and an error? No software can be smart enough answer that, but it can guess. That's why harmless files always have red flags.
The most annoying type of virus is usually the kind that start up with the PC and run in the background. Those can usually be disabled throughMSCONFIG. It's usuallyOK for a virus to be on your system, you just don't want it running in the background or else it actually effects you. A virus usually has to run somehow, and that's usually the way. It's nothing complex. Just go to the task manager (ctrl+alt+del), look for unfamiliar processes, right click and end process tree, it may take trail and error but as you become familiar you can spot an intruder.
Sometimes the virus is triggered by other programs, in which case, it's still a file burried somewhere in the system, and once again, the task manager will usually tell you the name of it, then you can search for it and delete it (either manually or using software to delete locked files).
The registry doesn't really have to be edited since MSCONFIG will do that for you. If it's a corrupt or missingfile, you can google it and replace it.
I'm just trying to save you money. I never run antivirus and never get viruses, though I'm not the most innocent user around. I just know what to click and what not to click. A matter of fact, there's times where an "antivirus" software will actually load your PC with malware just to make you think there's something wrong, then make you purchase the software to remove it...
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