How to Remove the Happy99 Virus

Tutorial By Marc Hoffman

Problem: The Happy99 Virus* has infected a computer. In short, the Happy99 Virus infects a user's system by pretending to be a harmless program that displays on screen fireworks, and by wishing the user a happy new year 1999 (see Figure 1). But, in the background, the program is altering important system files used by windows. After Happy99 has been run, the next time the user tries to send an email message, Happy99 tags along for the ride (this happens without the knowledge of the person sending the email). Note: Happy99 will only infect Windows 95, 98, and Windows NT computers; Macintosh, WebTV, and Windows 3.1 and 3.11 are immune.

Solution: This virus is very simple to remove from an infected system. To delete the virus, please download the program Happy99 Cleaner by clicking here. After downloading the program, run it, and then follow the on screen instructions. After the program is finished, the computer will need to be restarted. Once Windows loads back up, Happy99 Cleaner will display a listing of all the people that may have been sent the virus from your computer. Please send an email to these people, as well as a link to this page, telling them how to clean the virus off their systems.

**Figure 1: The Happy99 Screen**

*Technically, Happy99 is not a virus. Viruses typically infect other programs in order to propagate. Happy99 is actually classified as a worm, which does not have this limitation. Since it also pretends to be a harmless program, it is also classified as a Trojan Horse.