How To Locate Viruses Using The Attrib Command 11 Steps

For Windows 8, place your mouse cursor in the top-right corner of the screen, then click the magnifying glass icon when it appears.

If you’re using Windows XP, you’ll instead click the Run app on the right side of the Start menu.

If you’re using Windows XP, you’ll instead type cmd. exe into the Run window.

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).

Any legitimate system files won’t have their attributes removed, and you’ll see “Access Denied” listed to the left of them.

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”. [1] X Research source

For example: to delete the “autorun. inf” virus, you’d type in del autorun. inf.