Create a Free Virus Scanner

This guide shows you how to take a few free readily available tools from Trend Micro and create a free high-quality virus scanner.

This virus scanner is only meant to scan your computer for viruses and remove any it finds.  It will not protect your computer from viruses in real time like installed antivirus software does.

Create a Free Virus Scanner

This virus scanner consists of two files.  The first file is called sysclean and is the scanning engine.  The other file is the pattern file which tells the scan engine what to look for.

Sysclean

Create a new folder and call it what you want.  I use sysclean as the name.

Download sysclean (Sysclean Package) from Trend Micro and save it in the new folder you’ve just created.

Pattern File

Download the latest pattern file for Windows from Trend Micro.  It will have a .zip file extension.

Unzip the pattern file (it will look similar to lpt$vpn.XXX) and save it in the folder with the sysclean file.  You don’t need to copy the whatsnew.txt file.

Scanning Your Computer for Viruses

Now that you have the sysclean and pattern file (lpt$vpn.XXX) in your folder you can scan your computer for viruses.

The simplest way to run the sysclean virus scanner is to simply double-click sysclean.  The virus scanner window will open and you can go from there.

Detailed usage instructions can be found here.

Important Notes

The pattern files are updated every day or so on Trend Micro’s website.  The pattern file in your folder should be replaced with the new one as often as possible to make sure you have the latest pattern file.  Even the best virus scanner is no good if it doesn’t know what to look for.

The virus scanner can be saved on your hard drive, USB drive, network drive, or CD.  If it’s saved on a CD it needs to be copied to the hard drive before it can be run because files are written in its folder during the scan.

If you want to see the viruses (if any) it caught, open a file called sysclean.log that’s written inside the folder during the scan.  It will tell you what was caught and if it successfully removed it.

If it can’t remove a virus, try booting your computer in safe mode and running it then.

This guide was created by Brent Trahan webmaster of MAXIMUMpcguides.com a free source of hundreds of high quality, easy to understand and follow Windows Vista help and how-to guides that help you get the most out of your computer.