HijackThis Video

HijackThis Video Transcript

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>> We all want to stick it to cyber jerks who put malicious codes onto our computers. In the best way to do that is to root out the code. I'm Jessica Dolcourt with CNETdownload.com and today we'll be taking a look at Hijack This, a powerful security utility that can help uncover hidden threats. Before you begin there are two important things to know about Hijack This, the first is that it's not actually a spy ware detection tool, if the diagnostics scanning tool. Hijack This scans your computer and creates a log of all the running processes, after that it's up to you to determine what safe and what's suspicious, which can be tough if you are unfamiliar with spotting threats. That's why most users have hijacked this creates a log and then submit that log to a forum for analysis. The second thing you should know about Hijack This is that it's fairly aggressive, so if you accidentally delete what turns out to be a critical Windows process, you may find that you permanently altered your system, better make sure you do your homework. When you launch Hijack This, you will see a simple screen with only a few choices, you can scan the system with, or without creating a log, use the miscellaneous tools, or launch an online Quick start manual. As I mentioned, most users want a Hijack This to create a log of what's running on their system, a Hijack This earns big points for comprehensive scan that takes just the few seconds to complete. The scanning results show in the main program window and the log pops up in a text editor, the results may look like gibberish at first but you will learn your way around with the help of this button labeled info on selected item. When you click it offers more information about the item type, for example 09 items represent branding and are almost always safe. When you have done your research and figured out what you need to delete, select those files and click fix checked, then reboot and run an antivirus scan to see if your system is clean. Hijack This automatically makes it back up of any item you fix, so if you mistakenly thinks something you shouldn't have, you can always restore it from the backups menu. In addition to its signature scanning, Hijack This comes with system tools that let you get deeper into the diagnostic process or delete a file upon reboot. The beta version of Hijack This includes a feature called Analyze This, clicking it takes you to trend micro site and compares the contents of your log to an overall average, so you get an idea of how many other users are running it. The idea is that a program might be regarded as safe more than 50% of the users also run it, this is a great program for learning exactly what's on your system; just make sure to handle with care. I'm Jessica Dalcourt from CNET download.com and we've been looking at Hijack This. ^M00:02:33 [ Music ]