The Internet harbors a wide variety of undesirable programs: viruses, spyware, Trojans, rootkits, worms, pop-ups, hijackers, keyloggers, etc.

Whether you own a PC or laptop, if it has Microsoft Windows installed on it, it will become infected.  At that point, you will either have to pay someone to perform the trojan horse virus removal, or you'll have to remove it yourself.

At the very least malware can annoy you with pop-ups and slow down your computer. At it's worst, spyware and viruses can search your hard drive for personal information (such as banking information, social security numbers, etc.), and send it back to the virus creator via the Internet.

An excellent virus removal application will protect you from most forms of malware, but many people either put their trust in free antivirus products which do not work very well, or worse... let their antivirus subscription expire, letting the chips fall where they may.

If you are in either of these categories and have dodged the bullet so far, purchase a good antivirus application, install it and keep it updated. A few good suggestions are listed in "Virus Removal Step #5" found below.

If you have already been infected with a virus, it’s probably too late to install an antivirus application without removing the current infection first.

At our Fort Collins computer repair and virus removal facility in Colorado, we use a special sequence of processes using some common utilities to aid in each trojan horse virus removal on PCs and laptops. The good news is that this process is quite easy, and most of the tools are completely free.

Here are the 5 easy steps to trojan horse virus removal...

What is safe mode with networking? This mode of the operating system allows for a very clean boot, free from most applications and drivers. It allows for faster scanning and fewer interruptions when troubleshooting a computer, but it still allows you to download and update programs if we need to.

To get the computer into safe mode with networking, start up your computer and immediately begin tapping the F8 key on the keyboard. Pressing it about once per second is sufficient. The true moment of opportunity is immediately after the computer’s self-diagnostic testing but before the Windows splash screen. Timing it perfectly is hard. Tapping the F8 key is easier.

You will know that you were successful when you see the “Windows Advanced Options” menu of boot options. The text will be white on a black background.

Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to choose safe mode with networking. Press enter to continue.

Note: Many computers will not enable wireless functionality in Safe Mode with Networking, so if you would normally use wireless to connect to the Internet you may need to plug the computer into your router with an Ethernet cable before proceeding.

Launch a browser and download the free version of Malwarebytes from the link provided above. Once it’s downloaded install it.

When going through the process of installing, it will want you to perform an update. An application such as this is only as good as it’s virus definitions, so don’t skip this process.

Using Malwarebytes, perform a full scan of the computer. Don't try to go the "quick scan" route on this. This scan should take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. Since Malwarebytes has to scan through every file on your hard drive, the duration of the scan is dependent on how much information is on your computer.

In other words, if you have a lot of stuff on your computer you should probably go kill some time: Read a book. Play catch with your son or daughter. Go grocery shopping.

When the scan with Malwarebytes completes, delete whatever viruses and spyware it finds. It may ask you to reboot to finish the removal process. Go ahead and reboot, but be sure to press F8 to get back into Safe Mode.

Download and install the free version of SuperAntispyware from the link provided above. Then, update definitions and run a full scan.

If the program doesn't install in safe mode, download the SafeMSI tool from the resource box above. The SafeMSI tool will allow you to install SuperAntispyware (and other applications) in safe mode.

Once again, opt for the complete scan in SuperAntispyware... not the quick scan. Do not give in to impatience. Go spend some quality time with someone. Do some deep breathing exercises.

After the scan completes, delete whatever threats SuperAntispyware finds.

This program is good to use for Trojan Horse virus removal, and overlaps nicely with Malwarebytes. SuperAntispyware isn’t a program that I advise keeping installed after using it. Since it installs services which slow down your computer, I recommend uninstalling it after your computer is clean.

Download and install Spybot Search & Destroy from the link provided above.

During the installation process, Spybot S&D will ask you to update. Go ahead and update it. After updating Spybot S&D, do a full scan of the system and delete whatever it finds.

Be sure to check all of the boxes. Yes, this may mean that you have to say goodbye to that coupon bar that you downloaded and installed. These programs are typically considered spyware. Even the "helpful" ones collect information on your browsing habits.

As for the Trojan Horse virus removal capabilities of Spybot S&D, at this stage of the game it will usually only find residual pieces of the previously-removed programs and some "cookies". It’s just little scraps and leftovers, but it’s best to remove them.

Download and install a good antivirus application, such as Kaspersky Antivirus or Avira AntiVIR (both are listed in the resources section above). If money is tight, Avast! has a good antivirus application that is free for home users, which is better than AVG Free.

Unfortunately, not all antivirus applications are created equal. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. If a free program doesn’t work for you, you may need to purchase an antivirus application to get you out of a jam.

Kaspersky is one of the best antivirus products that I’ve used, and I don’t mind paying for it, nor should you.

But, if you honestly can’t afford Kaspersky right now, they offer a 30-day trial edition that will help your accomplish your immediate virus removal goals.  If you actually pay for it, and keep it on your computer it will help you avoid a costly Trojan Horse virus removal in the future.

Once your antivirus application is installed, it may ask you to reboot. Go ahead and reboot to fully ensure that the anvirus application is fully installed. Update the application and then reboot again if necessary.

After the program is installed and fully up to date, perform a full computer scan.

A good antivirus application will quarantine any harmful files that it finds - no questions asked. This is what you want.

Chances are, if you complete these 5 steps, you will have a clean, fast, virus-free computer. Approximately 90% of the time, the sequence listed above will be enough to get your system exorcised of all viruses, spyware and Trojans.

But, unfortunately this 5 step process is not a cure-all, nor does it work 100% of the time.

On roughly 10% of infected computers, the viruses will either not allow the above-mentioned tools to install or run properly, or the malware will somehow avoid detection.

If your computer falls into this 10% bracket, more advanced techniques may be required.

Another virus removal tactic (especially if you can't get the other tools to install or run) is using Reimage. Reimage is actually a pretty revolutionary tool. To read more about Reimage, click here. Reimage is a relatively new online service, but it has proven itself useful in many of our more stubborn virus removal cases.

Reimage essentially restores the Windows system files to their normal, uninfected state without destroying any of your personal data. Not only that, but Reimage is also good at resolving other operating system problems too, such as blue screens of death, slow computers, non-booting computers, etc.

I have seen Reimage work some computer miracles. If you are in doubt, try it out... they have a money back guarantee if it doesn't fix the problem.

The free reimage scanner is listed in the resources section above. Download it and see if it can help you.

Hopefully, these 5 steps have helped you in your trojan horse virus removal efforts. But, if you are reading down this far, you are probably still looking for help.

Malware is tricky.

It is tricky because virus writers design them that way. Programmers who write viruses and spyware study virus removal applications in order to help make their evil creations more resistant to detection. That makes any trojan horse virus removal complicated at times. After antivirus application developers catch on, they are able to update the virus removal tools to catch the more sophisticated malware. It’s an ever-evolving game of cat and mouse.

If all of the above advice proves ineffective, you may want to seek out a computer repair professional. There are many more advanced trojan horse virus removal techniques that I have not gone into because of the skills and knowledge required to use them. Not only that, but many advanced techniques carry the risk of operating system corruption or data loss if not used with care.

Finding a "computer guy" is easy. Just look in the phone book. Unfortunately, the phone book does not discriminate against those businesses who are less than reputable. Also, anyone with some cash can buy an ad in the phone directory, regardless of skills, experience, or customer satisfaction (or lack thereof).

The best way to find a trustworthy computer consultant and/or computer repair professional is to ask your friends, family, coworkers, classmates, neighbors and business colleagues. Check to see who they use to resolve their computer problems. With computers being in almost every home these days, the very same problem you are experiencing has probably already happened to someone that you know. So, just ask around.

Good luck.