How do you access your own computer's registry? Moreover what do you do with this info? ... ?

Question

That and, along with that, if you delete a file, say, one that contained a malicious virus/program, would it kill it/delete it completely, or do I have to go into the registry myself and delete or deal with those as well?

I'm not sure on how this whole thing works. I've detected a number of threats and found the file names and folders they are in and the registry "values" and registry "keys" associated with the malicious things and am not sure what to do with the register info.

Answer 1

To access your registry first click Start->Run type "regedit" press OK.

The windows registry is like a quick reference for Windows to get information about where things are on the computer, settings you have for various programs, start-up programs, etc.

First you will want to do a quick backup in case anything goes wrong. File->Export. Give it a name and select "ALL" from the bottom and save it to C:\. File->Import will put it back.

Inside the registry are "Keys" some keys are windows, some are added. The "value" is the infoinformation the key. Your friend here is Edit->Find to seacsearch what you are looking for unless you know the exact path eg, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\wi...

Good luck!

Answer 2

IF YOU HAVE TO ASK about the "registry" you have NO BUSINESS accessing it. One minor mistake,-- deleting a file you shouldn't -- can shut down your system and you will have to hire an expensive pro to get you up and running again.

Stay away from playing around with it and try some of the free downloads people are talking about in other answers for the fixes you need. If they don't work, then get a pro to help you out.  

Answer 3

THIS WILL DO IT FOR YOU ...WITHOUT MESSING WITH REGISTRY THAT CAN MESS U UP REAL BAD

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Ant...

Answer 4

Download the free version of Superantispyware.  http://www.superantispyware.com  Update and run and in depth scan.  I use this software myself.    Free you must update daily on a manual basis or purchase and get auto. updates.  Finds both viruses and spyware without any conflict to your own antivirus.

Mind Doctor, France