There was a happy time not long ago, that when someone told me they thought their computer had a virus because it was slow or acting oddly, I would be dubious. I just hadn't been seeing that many virus attacks. But in the last few weeks virus removal has been about 70% of my business. 

Some of the more common ones that have been appearing are the ones acting like legitimate anti-virus programs. A pop-up screen appears stating that your computer may be infected, and that by clicking a button you'll be able to remove it.

Now here is the important part... DON"T CLICK ANYWHERE on the pop-up window! If the name of the Anti-virus program is different that the one you have installed on your computer then this is a trojan program. These people don't play by the rules the rest of us play by. Clicking "No" doesn't send them away. Just the opposite is true. It lets them know you exist and that their program has found its target. 

So what to do?

1. Try to close the pop-up window by clicking the red 'X' in the top right of the window. You can also Right-Click on the pop-up window's name in the task bar at the bottom of your screen and choose 'Close.'. A final choice is to use 'Control-Alt-Delete', choose 'Task Manager', select the bad program and choose "End Task."
2. Close out all of your open programs
3. Run a scan using a well known malware removal tool such as Spybot - Search and Destroy, Super Antispyware, or Malwarebytes. Many times it's useful to run scans from multiple vendors because they search for malware in different ways.
4. Run a full scan of your computer using your Anti-Virus software. If for some reason you don't have an AV program installed, smack yourself on the back of the wrist and say, "Bad computer user." If you need a good Anti-Virus program, I recommend AVG or Kaspersky. You can even try out the free version of AVG and see how you like it.

If you find yourself with an infected computer, don't panic. Most malware can be handled without serious damage to your computer. The key is to be pro-active (install AV software) and respond quickly (perform scans).

Finally, don't be ashamed. Even the biggest corporations with a full IT staff get hit with viruses. It's just an unfortunate aspect of the online age we live in.

If you get hit with a trojan/virus and need help getting rid of it, give us a call. We'll get you back on line and browsing in no time.

For further reading on the topic of malware, check out the treats information site at Kaspersky.