How to Locate Viruses Using the Attrib Command

Download Article

Download Article

• Opening Command Prompt
|
• Locating and Deleting Viruses
|
• Video

|Show more|Show less

This How.com.vn teaches you how to find and remove a virus that you know by name from your Windows computer. To do so, open the Command Prompt as an administrator and type your directory name. Find your virus, and then run the delete prompt.

Quick Steps

1. Open the Command Prompt.
2. Type your directory name and press Enter.
3. Type attrib -r -a -s -h *.* and press Enter.
4. Find your virus name.
5. Type del [virus name] and press Enter.

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Opening Command Prompt

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Open the Start menu. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen, or press the ⊞ Win key on your keyboard.

   • For Windows 8, place your mouse cursor in the top-right corner of the screen, then click the magnifying glass icon when it appears.
2. 
   2
   Type command prompt into the "Search" field. Doing so will search your computer for the Command Prompt app, which will pop up at the top of the search menu.

   • If you're using Windows XP, you'll instead click the Run app on the right side of the Start menu.
   Advertisement
3. 
   3
   Right-click Command Prompt. It resembles a black box. Doing this will invoke a drop-down menu.

   • If you're using Windows XP, you'll instead type cmd.exe into the Run window.
4. 
   4
   Click Run as administrator. It's near the top of the drop-down menu. Doing so will open Command Prompt with administrator privileges.

   • You'll need to confirm this choice by clicking Yes when prompted.
   • If you're using Windows XP, you'll click OK to open Command Prompt.
   • You won't be able to run Command Prompt in administrator mode if you're on a restricted, public, or networked computer (e.g., a library or school computer).
Advertisement

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Locating and Deleting Viruses

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Type in your directory's name. This will typically be the letter on the disk drive (e.g., "C:").
2. 
   2
   Press ↵ Enter. This will change the Command Prompt's search location to your selected directory.
3. 
   3
   Type attrib -r -a -s -h *.* into Command Prompt. The "attrib" command forces all hidden, read-only, archived, and system files to display in Command Prompt, and the "-r -a -s -h *.*" section of the command removes these attributes from non-legitimate files.

   • Any legitimate system files won't have their attributes removed, and you'll see "Access Denied" listed to the left of them.
4. 
   4
   Press ↵ Enter. Doing so will display all previously hidden system files' names.
5. 
   5
   Scroll up to find your virus. If you know the virus' name, you'll simply need to scroll up to it. Otherwise, look for files ending in ".inf" and ".exe" that don't look familiar.

   • Before proceeding, be sure to double-check any file names you suspect of being viruses by looking them up.
   • Common virus names include "autorun.inf" and "New Folder.exe".
6. 
   6
   Type del [file name] and press ↵ Enter. Doing so will remove the virus from your computer.

   • For example: to delete the "autorun.inf" virus, you'd type in del autorun.inf.
7. 
   7
   Close Command Prompt. The virus should no longer affect your system. You may even notice a slight increase in computer running speed or app response time.
Advertisement

Common Questions: Removing Viruses with CMD

Can I find malware with the Command Prompt?

You can find viruses and malware with the Attrib command in Command Prompt. Once located, you can delete them from your computer.

How do I clean my computer using CMD?

Use the command: attrib -r -a -s -h *.* to find any viruses on your computer. If you find any, use the command: del [virus name].

What is the CMD.exe virus?

This virus mimics the Command Prompt, an application that comes with your device. If you suspect you have a virus, consider running an antivirus scan if nothing comes up in the Command Prompt.

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!