Virus Removal / Malware Removal

Virus’s, Spyware, Malware, HiJacks! – Whatever the problem is it can be resolved without the need to buy a new system. Many people seem to be under the impression that buying a new PC is the way to go when theirs becomes badly infected. Perhaps it is just an excuse to treat themselves, which is fair enough, but they might then be throwing away what could be a perfectly good PC. If you are guilty of bad practice with a PC that gets badly infected, there is every chance that you could find yourself in the same boat with a new system! A decent anti-virus program is essential. Keeping it up to date and running a regular scan is also essential. Take some simple steps to avoid ‘dodgy’ web sites, and clicking on links in emails that are from untrusted sources can save a lot of pain. Keeping Windows itself up-to-date using Windows Update is essential.

It is not uncommon to come across systems with more than one anti-virus system. This is not going to help. One of the main jobs of an anti-virus program is to inspect any file that the system is going to access before it is actually accessed. If you have two programs each of which’s sole purpose is to do this, then they will fight over every file, resulting in a system that whilst it may well be more secure, will not run very quickly at all.

“How do I get a virus if I have an up-to-date anti-virus program?” This is a very common question and the answer is simple “bad luck”. When a new virus or malware program is released, it is new. Because of this it probably won’t be blocked by any anti-virus program. Enough people have to get it for it to be isolated by your anti-virus company, so they can produce an update, which can then be downloaded to your PC for you in turn to then be protected from it. This process may take a week or two, which means that if you are unlucky to come across it during this period, you will probably get infected. Sadly once infected it can prove very tricky to remove a malware program, it will often disable your anti-virus program and prevent it from picking up the patch to stop it.

Many malware programs sneak onto your PC and to all intents and purposes look like an anti-malware program. They tell you that you have a large number of problems, and offer to fix them for you for usually around $80. DO NOT PAY THIS MONEY! The best that will happen is that they will take the money and the program will sleep for a year and not bother you. Far more likely is that they will take the money multiple times, and use your details to set up financial transactions in your name – identity theft. So what can you do? You can try to run System Restore and choose a time that predates the infection by a few days. If this works then immediately update your anti-virus program and scan your system, then run Windows Updates until there are no more updates.

Before you install some new anti-malware program, then Google it first. Have a good look at the first 3 or 4 pages of results – not just the first one, it’s too easily manipulated – and see if there is predominantly good things about it. If there are many entries along the lines of “How to get rid of product x” then steer well away from it.

If all this doesn’t help then don’t panic, just call us and we will come and sort it out for you, and we will do everything possible to ensure you won’t lose any of your valuable data.

Get in touch today to see how we can help.