Clean Your Infected Computer & Back to Full Access

If you are voluntarily visiting this site to learn how to clean your infected computer, we applaud you! Some subscribers have been directed to this page because they have been placed on Limited Access and must clean their computer to gain full access to the Internet. Please read on to learn how to clean your infected computer.

If you have been placed on Limited Access, don’t worry. Limited Access is temporary and designed to prevent the virus or malicious software that resides on your computer from infecting others. Unfortunately, Limited Access does prevent you from sending out email other than by webmail and does limit access to some other Internet services such as News Groups.

If you have been placed on Limited Access, you need to follow the steps below and then CALL STI to be removed from Limited Access and avoid the $5 monthly surcharge. The final step in this process is VERY IMPORTANT.

BEFORE YOU START

You must be comfortable with:

If you are uncomfortable with the previous steps, contact your local computer repair shop to have your computer cleaned. STI is not responsible for any lost data or revenue due to any process you go through to clean your computer. It is important to back up critical data prior to attempting to clean your computer. Keep in mind that the virus/Trojan/worm may be in the data you are backing up so you will need to thoroughly scan your computer prior to restoring it to a cleaned machine.

STEP 1

Back up critical data to a recordable CD or tape prior to attempting to clean your computer.

• Be aware that some of your files may be infected, so be sure to thoroughly scan all data before restoring your cleaned computer.

STEP 2

Install an Anti-virus program.

• Update the anti-virus program immediately after installation (following the vendor instructions).
• Immediately scan your entire computer, including memory (this may differ from the standard configuration).
• Configure your Anti-virus to automatically scan your entire computer and update its signature file(s) daily.

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STEP 3

Download and install all applicable Critical Updates from Microsoft, Apple or a reputable support site for your operating system.

Please consider configuring your Critical Updates to download and install automatically. There is a chance a particular Critical Update may adversely affect another program you have installed on your computer, so you’ll have to weigh that possibility against the comfort level of knowing your Critical Updates are installed immediately upon release by the manufacturer.

STEP 4

For maximum protection, please consider installing a Firewall program.

• Update your firewall software immediately after installation (following the vendor instructions).
• Configure your Firewall to automatically check for updates daily.

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More on Firewalls…

Your firewall will create a log of probes and inquiries. Do not be alarmed by these; in fact, it is normal to receive hits, probes and inquiries from inside and outside the STI network that may last 40 seconds to 4 minutes or longer.

Rest assured the STI network engineers are aware of these probes and are constantly researching data and identifying infected or compromised machines to protect your Internet connection. This is our job and we take it very seriously. Your best course of action is to “set and forget” your firewall. Just make sure your firewall is updated on a regular basis (preferably by an automated process). If you feel the need to share your logs with STI, please send them to subscriber.logs@sti.net.

A true attack is a concerted or continuous attempt to deny service to you. If you feel you are under attack from someone, regardless of the source, contact STI tech support.

STI Tech Support

STEP 5

Step 5 is to install a spyware removal tool; however, this step is optional. Spyware is more of a hassle than a detriment to your computer. Even still, spyware can compromise the operation of your machine, slow it down, create unwanted pop-ups and possibly crash it. For those reasons, we have included it on this Aid Station page. Without going into great detail, spyware tracks your every move on the Internet and reports back to its “mother ship,” whomever that may be. This information is used for general and direct marketing campaigns.

• Periodically scan your computer to remove unauthorized spyware.

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FINAL STEP – A MUST FOR LIMITED ACCESS CUSTOMERS

The final step is to be placed back on Full Access to avoid or remove the $5 monthly surcharge.

• Contact STI Tech Support.
• Advise the technician that you have completed steps 2 and 3 on all computers connected to the Internet via STI.
• Ask to be placed back on Full Access.

STI Tech Support

Thank you for being an STI customer! We take network security very seriously, and hope you understand that the Limited Access process is necessary to keep all our Subscribers safe from what lurks out there on the Internet.

Sincerely,

The STI Internet Abuse Team