Help, I have a virus!

First, don't panic!

More damage can be done to a system by trying to fix it than was done by the original infection.

We can help. Give us a call. We will find and remove the malware (virus, trojan, spyware or adware) that is slowing down or blocking access to your machine.

Only in very rare cases (after the payload has activated on certain viruses) do you need to reformat your drive or use the complete system restore CD from the factory. This will erase all your personal files! Unfortunately, some "Tech Support" people have used this because they know that reinstalling the factory CD will fix your machine, if it is a software problem-virus or not. Of course, if the real problem is a dying hard drive, this system restore will appear to fix the problem. Unfortunately, now you have lost files that might have been copied before the hard drive failed, and after you go to the trouble of reinstalling your programs, setting up your email and restoring whatever files you have backed up, your machine will slow down and eventually fail again.

If your computer works, back up important files now. It would be even better if you have backups from before the problem started (hint-back up on a regular, frequent basis those files that you can't live without).

Even if your computer works, continuing to use it with an unknown virus is not a good idea. You could be sending copies of the virus to persons known and unknown, damaging additional files, or even counting down to losing everything.

Identify the culprit, remove the active infection, clean what can be cleaned and restore known good copies of files. We'll be glad to do this for you, just give us a call.

Why do you think you have a virus?

I got an e-mail from a "friend" about this new virus, and I have the same file on my computer. Most of the time, this is a hoax. Do us all a favor and don't mail it to everyone you know.

My computer is acting strangely. OK, there is something wrong. It could be an infection. It could also be a hardware problem.

I clicked on an e-mail attachment and now I can't open my programs. Yes, that would do it.

I clicked on a link or ad on a website and now my computer keeps telling me I'm infected and that if I buy the "full version" I will be clean again. Don't do it! Fake antivirus won't get you clean. The people who just infected you and want to be paid for it will also sell your credit card to someone and more charges will show up.

Do you have an antivirus program on your computer ?
Is it updated regularly? (Your antivirus is only as good as it's last update.)
Did your antivirus program identify the virus?