What is HijackThis and a HijackThis Log?
HijackThis is an essential program developed for the aid in removal of spyware from your computer. HijackThis was created by a Dutch student, Merijn Bellokom, who studied chemistry and computer science. Many people are familiar with HijackThis Logs and the purpose they serve. In many circumstances a HijackThis Log is used to identify spyware files running on your computer or registry entries that may be infected by various spyware.
HijackThis Logs are usually used by persons who are proficient and knowledgeable about the inner workings of computer and operating system files. A knowledgeable person should be the one to decipher which specific files to remove in a HijackThis Log.
TrendMicro, a security company, obtained HijackThis because Bellokom did not have the time to support and update HijackThis. Since then HijackThis has been updated and the newest version can be downloaded from http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php.
How does HijackThis work?
The functionality behind HijackThis in helping users remove spyware is when HijackThis is run and creates a log of your files. The HijackThis Log can be sent off to TrendMicro to do a comparison against other logs to identify "issues" or spyware files. The HijackThis Log also gives any user the ability to take any suspicious file names and perform a web search on your own to see whether the file is legitimate or something malicious in nature such as spyware or Trojan infections.
Many of the new functions of HijackThis can be found it the newest 2.0 version in the instructions. Computer users should thoroughly research and educate themselves on any suspicious files that HijackThis may have in the Log before deleting the file. Deleting essential operating system files may render your computer unusable or damaged. It is recommended that computer users consult with an expert that has examined HijackThis Logs in the past in order to identify malicious files vs. acceptable files.