How to Uninstall Combofix [Working Guide]

What is Combofix?

The problem of malware is a growing issue. There are many different types of malware, and some can be very dangerous to your computer. One type of malware that may have infected your computer is Combofix. Combofix will change system settings and delete certain files from the hard drive. It also can disable antivirus programs as well as prevent them from being reinstalled on the affected machine. To remove this virus from your computer, you must first purchase an antivirus program that combats this particular threat. 

Combofix Benefits

The combofix tool can remove malware that many other tools are not able to remove. It’s also a very efficient tool for removing stubborn rootkits and bootkits on Windows operating systems, as it includes a powerful rootkit scanner/remover which can detect various types of kernel-mode drivers or user-mode hooks hiding on the system even if they have been programmed with advanced techniques including “Ring0” (kernel) and “Ring3” (user) privilege concealment methods.

Combofix is also useful for fixing broken system files that might be causing your computer not to work properly or crash from time to time, especially those related to registry issues. For example, some malware programs modify your Registry without your knowledge, resulting in your Internet connection not working properly, or the computer might crash unexpectedly. Even if you are an advanced PC user, combofix can help you resolve any Registry-related issues that may be causing problems to your system.

Even though it’s developed specifically for Windows operating systems, combofix was successfully tested on several other platforms (Linux and Mac OS). It does not require installation onto a host machine, which means it can be easily run from a portable device such as a USB flash drive.

How to use Combofix?

You only need to download the file named “combofix” (from one of the links given below) – do NOT install it yet! Once you have downloaded the file to your Desktop, you need to extract it by right-clicking on it, selecting “Extract All”, and entering a folder name. After extracting it, open the newly-created directory (i.e. the one you’ve just given as input during extraction) and double-click/run “combofix”.

Note: If you are running Vista/7 64 bit version, please use this link which gives you an up-to-date 32 bit executable of combofix instead.

After Combofix starts scanning your system, you might be prompted with several EULA type messages – just press ENTER or CONTINUE button all the time until they are finished. Once done with scans, there will be a second prompt/window that contains the log file of what Combofix has done (in case it detects and removes any malware) – this might take a few minutes, as it will show you every malware that is being detected. Note: It’s normal for it to seem like nothing is happening at all with that window, or for it to be moving very slowly – wait until the end of the scan (it shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes).

Once done with scanning, Combofix will display a message saying “Click ‘OK’ to delete selected files” – press ENTER key on your keyboard, and it will launch a deletion wizard so you can select what type of objects you want to remove from your computer. Once again, press ENTER or CONTINUE on every prompt that might ask you to remove certain files/folders/programs from your system.

Note: Make sure there is a checkmark in front of items you want to delete. Otherwise, they will be ignored and not removed! Once done with the selection process, it will begin removing malicious files from your computer. NOTE: It is normal for a scanner/cleaner tool such as combofix to have some impact on computer speed while being run – wait until the program finishes what it’s doing before checking on its progress.

How to use Combofix with Virtual Machines?

If you are running Combofix from a virtual machine (i.e. it installed onto an already running operating system), you should consider enabling/starting Hyper-V (or its equivalent) in the host machine. This allows the virtual machine to access system files and fix them if necessary. Otherwise, it might cause issues during the removal process. To start or enable Hyper-V on Windows 8/8.1, open Windows Features dialog by typing “Windows key + W” combination and then entering “Turn Windows features on or off”, click the OK button when done – this will open the Windows Features dialog where you need to select Hyper-V from the list, press OK again – this will turn it on for your system.

How to uninstall combofix in Windows 7, 10 and Vista?

Well, since Combofix is not an application that you install onto your system, the only way to remove it is by uninstalling it. To uninstall Combofix, go to Windows Control Panel, choose Add/Remove programs (Programs and Features in Windows 8/8.1), select combofix from the list of installed software on your PC, and press the Uninstall button there. Once done with uninstalling, restart your computer – Windows will ask you to reboot for changes to take effect, so do that if asked (otherwise, it might continue using some files which are no longer present after uninstallation).

How often should I use combofix?

The short answer would be “whenever needed”, but unfortunately, that is not true. Combofix should be used only when there are no other options left, as it can mess up your system very badly if you use it too often against malware that doesn’t uninstall properly. For example, if you uninstall some virus manually or with another tool and it says uninstall successfully but later on you find out that its remnants are still present in your system (e.g. by running combofix), then running it again. Might invalidate all changes made during uninstall process done earlier!