As a result, I strongly recommend you use an antivirus to remove the COM Surrogate virus. The antivirus will use a malware scanner to pinpoint and safely delete the virus. Of all the antivirus software I tested, Norton 360 is the best option for quickly and easily removing the COM Surrogate virus — it detected and removed 100% of viruses in tests and it has real-time protection to prevent re-infection. You can try Norton 360 risk-free with its 60-day money-back guarantee. I tested the refund process to make sure it works and I had my money back in just 5 days. Remove the COM Surrogate virus with Norton 360
Quick Guide: How to Remove the COM Surrogate Virus on Windows
Remove the COM Surrogate virus with Norton 360
Step-By-Step Guide: How to Remove COM Surrogate Virus From Your PC
1. Check for COM Surrogate Virus
If you suspect you have a COM Surrogate virus, you can confirm it by checking the process file location. However, this step is optional — you can head straight to Step 2 if you just want to remove any potential viruses on your PC. a) Open Task Manager by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESC at the same time. Scroll down a little to “Background Processes,” and you’ll find COM Surrogate there. Often, there is more than one instance of COM Surrogate — this is totally normal. b) Right-click the COM Surrogate process and choose “Open File Location.” This will show you exactly where the process is operating from and should only lead you to “dllhost” or “dllhost.exe” in System32. If the file location is anywhere else, the process is likely to be a virus.
2. Run a Full System Scan With a Top-Tier Antivirus
The most important step is to run a full device scan with trustworthy antivirus software like Norton 360. This will detect and quarantine any COM Surrogate viruses present on your device. Even if you know where the virus is hiding, make sure the antivirus scans your whole PC. This ensures no other instances of COM Surrogate viruses or other malware can remain on your device. Some full system scans can take several hours, but a powerful antivirus can cut this time significantly— Norton 360’s full device scan took less than 15 minutes to scan over half a terabyte of data on my PC.
3. Delete the Virus From Your Device
Once the COM Surrogate virus has been detected, your antivirus software will automatically move the infected files to quarantine. They can no longer affect your device in quarantine, but it’s a good idea to remove them from your PC completely. If you’re an advanced user, you may want to go through quarantined files manually to ensure there are no false positives. However, top antivirus programs very rarely register false positives, so it’s best to delete any files that have been flagged as malware. After deleting all malicious files, you should restart your PC and run a second full system scan. Antivirus software like Norton 360 won’t scan safe files again to reduce scan time, so you can make sure your system is clean and secure in no time. Remove the COM Surrogate virus with Norton 360
The Best Antivirus Programs to Remove Infected COM Surrogate (Tested in January 2023)
1. Norton 360 — #1 Antivirus for Locating and Detecting All Malware (Including COM Surrogate Virus)
Norton 360 takes the top spot for its impressive real-time malware detection, ideal for easily removing COM Surrogate viruses. Its full device scan is extremely fast, taking just 12 minutes to check over 780,000 files — more than half a terabyte of data. As it’s vital to let the scan run to completion, I’m glad it didn’t take long to finish scanning my PC. Using Norton Insight, future scans are even faster as it flags safe files and doesn’t scan them again unless there are changes. My second full scan took less than 3 minutes. During my tests, Norton 360 successfully found 100% of malicious test files I’d hidden on my Windows PC. It immediately moved all suspicious files to quarantine for me to review and delete in my own time — removing the threat and securing my PC straight away. From Norton’s quarantine folder, you’re able to permanently delete all instances of the COM Surrogate virus. As the COM Surrogate virus can easily go undetected, I was pleased to find Norton 360 has a host of security features to prevent reinfection. Its WiFi and Web Security features assess the safety of networks and websites respectively, blocking access if the risk is too great. Norton blocked every malicious test site I visited, proving it would protect my PC from shady websites wanting to infect my device with a COM Surrogate virus or worse.
Norton 360 monitors messages and emails with your consent, blocking phishing links to secure your devices. I also used Norton 360’s password manager, which improved my WiFi network’s security by recommending a better password and changing it automatically. Plus, Norton 360 includes an unlimited VPN that protects your connection from malicious attacks. Additionally, Norton includes a robust firewall, a range of parental control options, a system clean-up feature, and identity theft protection (US only). These tools help keep my kids secure while they’re online and improve the performance of my devices by getting rid of junk and duplicate files. I highly recommend you use Norton 360 to remove the COM Surrogate virus and other malware from your PC. You can test the service for up to 60 days risk-free with Norton 360’s money-back guarantee. If you’re not fully satisfied, just contact the 24/7 live chat and request a refund. It only took a couple of minutes for the agent to process the request, and the money was returned in just 5 days. Remove the COM Surrogate virus with Norton 360
2. Bitdefender — Powerful Malware Detection Optimized for Windows Users
Bitdefender’s powerful security features are optimized for Windows, making it a top choice for removing a COM Surrogate virus. It’s one of the leading antivirus packages for Windows users due to its impressive malware detection rates. In recent tests, Bitdefender caught 100% of known malware, proving its reliability at detecting COM Surrogate viruses and other Windows-specific malware. Upon downloading the app to my Windows PC, I was prompted to run a System Scan which took just over 45 minutes to complete. Bitdefender successfully found all malicious files I’d hidden on my device. All dangerous items were automatically moved to Bitdefender’s quarantine to delete in my own time. I was most impressed with Bitdefender’s firewall, phishing protection, and unlimited VPN. Bitdefender’s features worked well to prevent future COM Surrogate infections by securing my device, blocking malicious links and sites, and protecting my online activity. I attempted to access multiple malware test sites, and Bitdefender blocked them all.
Bitdefender also offers a SafePay feature that secures your sensitive information when you’re banking or shopping online. It launches a secure browser that blocks interference from outside apps or actions, like keyloggers, screenshotting, and suspicious websites. This gives me peace of mind that even the sneakiest viruses harboring data-stealing malware can’t access my sensitive online activity. Bitdefender is an excellent resource if you prefer a more hands-off antivirus. Its firewall continually reconfigures itself to optimize settings, alerts can be silenced for zero interruptions, and you can schedule regular scans. This ensures your protection from COM Surrogate and other viruses without the need for external intervention. While Bitdefender provides top-tier security, it also comes at a high price. Subscription fees double upon renewal, making it one of the more expensive packages available. If you’re looking for antivirus tailored to Windows, it’s a great choice — but other antiviruses like Norton offer a range of features for all operating systems at a lower price. It’s always best to test a service yourself to see if it works for you, so I recommend you try Bitdefender risk-free for 30 days with its money-back guarantee. Getting a full refund is easy if you’re not satisfied — I sent an email ticket through the site and after getting a response, I had my money back in 5 days. Remove the COM Surrogate virus with Bitdefender
3. TotalAV — Tailored Online Security Features Protect Your PC From Malware
TotalAV has robust malware detection for removing the COM Surrogate virus from your PC. However, I was most impressed with its range of online security features that prevent viruses, malware, and further infections. Namely, TotalAV’s WebShield, ad blocker, and VPN kept my PC secure and free from potential malicious activity. I visited several malicious test websites and found TotalAV easily blocked them all. WebShield also blocked access to sites through phishing links and scanned every file download to ensure they didn’t host malware. As these are the easiest way to infect a PC with a COM Surrogate virus, TotalAV provided excellent protection. TotalAV found 100% of malicious test files hidden on my PC during tests. This means it can effectively locate and remove COM Surrogate viruses hiding on your device. Once discovered, all malicious files are sent to quarantine for later deletion. I found it easy to see which files were quarantined, so I could identify any COM Surrogate virus infections. TotalAV scores an impressive 99% success rate in real-time malware detection — only Norton 360 gets a perfect score. I was also pleased with TotalAV’s ad blocker, which stopped invasive pop-ups from loading, as well as the Safe Browsing VPN. This let me connect to unsecured WiFi anonymously, protecting my device from potential hackers targeting my connection. Unfortunately, TotalAV’s 24/7 live chat was glitchy and email support was unresponsive. I recommend using phone support for the quickest help. Customer support issues aside, I still recommend you try TotalAV risk-free for 30 days with its money-back guarantee. If it’s not the right antivirus for you, just make a quick phone call (mine took about 5 minutes altogether), and you’ll have your money back within 7 business days. Remove the COM Surrogate virus with TotalAV
Tips to Prevent COM Surrogate Re-Infection
It’s surprisingly easy for malware to get onto your PC if you’re not taking the proper precautions. Here are some ways you can stop a COM Surrogate virus and other malware from infecting your PC in the future:
Install a top-tier antivirus — This is the easiest and most secure way to stop further viruses and malware from attacking your devices. A trustworthy service like Norton 360 has real-time protection that scored 100% in recent detection tests. Ensure your PC’s OS and drivers are up-to-date — Hackers are always looking for device vulnerabilities to take advantage of. Keeping your system and apps up-to-date reduces the chances of hackers exploiting any potential holes. Bitdefender’s Vulnerability Assessment regularly scans your device so you can fix potentially unsafe issues. Keep your wireless network secure — While using a firewall is a good start, you should password-protect your wireless network to stop hackers from accessing it. Choose a password with at least 15 characters (a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters). Avoid connecting to unsecured WiFi networks — Hackers often target unsecured WiFi to connect with devices and infect them with malware. Only connect to trusted networks with high-level security. If you must use an unsecured network, a service like TotalAV has a Safe Browsing VPN to secure your connection and protect you from cyberattacks. Avoid clicking suspicious links and attachments — Phishing links and files loaded with malware are often sent through email. If you don’t recognize the sender or are unsure where the link leads, don’t click any item in the email. Norton 360 scans and blocks messages with malicious links to protect your device from these threats. Don’t download unverified software — One of the easiest ways for hackers to infect your PC is through software that looks genuine but is actually full of malware. Only download software from trusted, verified sources to avoid these viruses.
Remove the COM Surrogate virus with Norton 360
How do you know if you have a COM Surrogate virus?
It can be tricky to tell if you have a COM Surrogate virus as it cleverly hides as a genuine Windows process. If you suspect you have an infection, you should immediately run a full scan of your PC with antivirus software. Don’t connect other devices (like a mobile device or USB drive) to your PC. This could enable the virus to replicate itself and spread to those devices. There are a couple of signs that can alert you to the presence of a COM Surrogate virus on your PC. First, excessive CPU power — genuine COM Surrogate processes use very little CPU power, so it’s likely to be malware if the usage is very high. You can also right-click on the process in your Task Manager and check the properties. If it leads anywhere other than ‘dllhost’ in the C:\Windows\System32 folder, it’s probably a virus.
Is COM Surrogate a virus?
No, COM Surrogate is not a virus. While there are steps you can take to check your PC for infection, COM Surrogate is a vital Windows process that usually runs in the background. As such, it cannot be removed or disabled on your PC. COM Surrogate is designed to protect other apps from crashing entirely — if one of the COM components doesn’t work, it absorbs the crash to keep your other apps operational. Even if you click “End Task” in your Task Manager, COM Surrogate will reappear the next time an app calls on it. Unfortunately, hackers can manipulate COM Surrogate or create fake versions of the process to hide Trojans and other malware. Once it’s on your PC, the fake process can operate undetected, hiding behind the legitimate one. As there is often more than one instance of COM Surrogate running, it can be even harder to tell if the process is genuine or not. To determine if your COM Surrogate process is genuine, you should run a full system scan with reputable antivirus software. This will detect and quarantine all disguised malware.
Why does COM Surrogate keep crashing?
Occasional COM Surrogate crashes are perfectly normal — in fact, that’s what the process is designed to do. However, if it seems to be crashing more than it should or using a lot of CPU power, you should get a trustworthy antivirus and run a malware scan immediately. You should also ensure that your device drivers and apps are up to date, as frequent COM Surrogate crashes could be due to outdated software extensions. The reason COM Surrogate crashes occasionally is because it’s a sacrificial process. It’s called on by software extensions (like Internet Explorer) called COM Objects. If a process in the COM Object crashes, the COM Surrogate process absorbs the crash instead. This stops the extension — and potentially your entire system — from crashing. As such, it’s not unusual to see several COM Surrogate processes running in your Task Manager simultaneously.
Why is COM Surrogate asking for my password?
COM Surrogate can sometimes start asking for your password when the process has been manually shut down. It’s important not to manually shut down COM Surrogate as it’s an essential Windows process and this could cause problems with your operating system. It’s also a good idea to run an antivirus scan to see if you have a COM Surrogate virus, as asking for your password could be a phishing attempt. You can attempt to fix the COM Surrogate password problem by restarting your PC. Rebooting your device can reset the changes you’ve made by manually shutting down the process. If you’re still getting the password prompt, try starting your PC in Safe Mode. If the prompt disappears, you know that the COM Surrogate issue is due to a third-party app. This could be an incorrect installation, out-of-date version, or something similar. Try updating all of your apps and fixing any errors that occurred during installation. While it may take some time, you can determine what is causing the problem by performing a “clean boot” and switching each app off and on to see if it triggers the password prompt. You can find detailed instructions on how to do this on Microsoft’s support site. Remove the COM Surrogate virus with Norton 360
Get Rid of the COM Surrogate Virus With Top-Tier Antivirus Software
Hackers are constantly creating malware that’s difficult to detect. A COM Surrogate virus can easily sneak onto your Windows PC and steal your data without you knowing. This is why it’s important to safeguard your PC from infection and remove all traces of existing COM Surrogate viruses with a trusted antivirus. I tested dozens of antiviruses and of them all, Norton 360 is the software I trust to protect my Windows PC from the COM Surrogate virus and other threats. Its high-level scans detect 100% of new and known malware, with real-time protection preventing attacks from happening in the first place. Plus, it’s loaded with extra features to improve security and optimize device performance. With its money-back guarantee, you can try Norton 360 risk-free for up to 60 days. If you’re not entirely satisfied, you can get a full refund through Norton’s 24/7 live chat.
