Advanced malware removal tool might be needed for pesky virus

Q. I have a particularly pesky virus that I can’t seem to get rid of. Malwarebytes finds it, but cannot remove it. What are my options here?

A. One problem with viruses is that they are not always easy to clear from your system. Beyond that, even if you do manage to get the malware removed, the damage it leaves behind can still be devastating. Loss of data or even functionality are not uncommon after becoming infected with a virus. That is why it is always a good idea to keep a reliable backup of your important data as that is the most reliable means of recovering after an infection.

While Malwarebytes is a useful tool for removing malware, it’s not always 100 percent effective. Sometimes you have to use multiple removal applications to get rid of the infection.

While not terribly intuitive, there is a program I like called Combofix. You can get it from http:// www. bleepingcomputer.com/download/ combofix. You can also find instructions for using the tool at bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/howto-use-combofix.

This is an advanced malware removal tool and should only be used in the event of a malware infection that cannot be removed using other tools or methods.

Q. Acrobat Reader DC has had an ongoing, unresolved freezing problem for over a year now. It freezes every few minutes of use for no known reason and doesn’t come back, so I have to close and reopen everything and start over. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled, updated and used Adobe Help’s Repair Installation numerous times, to no avail. Is there a way to go to the previous version, which worked perfectly?

A. If you believe that an older version of Adobe Reader will help, there’s a site called olderversions. com that maintains a library of the various versions of popular software applications. On some occasions I have found this to be quite useful.

But in this case I would first suggest uninstalling Adobe Reader and going to get.adobe.com/reader and pulling down the latest version because it appears they have addressed this issue in their latest release.

Lee co-hosts “Technology Bytes,” 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays, on KPFT 90.1 FM and at geekradio.com. helpline@chron.com blog.chron.com/helpline