How to Recover From a Virus Attack

Prevention is the best security policy. It is best to observe some safety precautions while online and offline. However, no precaution can guarantee a virus free computer. Virus attacks can do all sorts of damage to a computer. They destroy files, corrupt applications, and corrupt data. Let’s delve into how to remove a virus from your computer and things you must do to get your computer up and going one more time.

Limit the Spread of the Virus

The first thing to do when you suspect that a computer has virus is to disconnect the computer from the network. This is necessary to prevent more attacks. Simply put, it is like controlling a disease from spreading.

Removing the Virus

Some viruses are designed to attack operating systems whereas others attack applications only. The best way to get rid of such malicious programs is by having good security software on your computer and making sure it is up-to-date. If you are able to boot up your computer, start by booting into safe mode with networking. In safe mode, run a virus scan with the virus software of your choice. Hopefully the scan is able to find and remove the malicious software. At this point, we also recommend downloading and installing malwarebytes. Open up malwarebytes, update the malware definitions, and then run a scan. Malwarebytes is usually very good at finding and removing viruses and malware. At this point, we recommend restarting into safe mode again and then running another scan to make sure your computer is clean.

If you are unable to remove the virus with your virus software and malwarebytes, try to use the system restore to restore the computer to a previous working condition. This only works if you have a good previous restore point however.

If your system is not rebooting no matter how hard you try, use the installation disc to try to repair the operating system. The installation disc does three things. You can use it for a fresh installation. You can also use it to restore your system. Last, it is used to perform a system restore as well.

You may want to reinstall your operating system in cases where your operating system has been severely damaged by the virus attack. By reinstalling, you will lose files that you have not backed up. Regularly maintaining backups is a good habit. For one reason, the operating system can crash when we least expect it and sometimes just when we need an important piece of data on the hard drive.

Take Future Precautions

Now that the virus is gone, you have to take all the necessary steps to avert future attacks. Some of the things you can do include regularly changing your ISP passwords and email passwords, keeping your virus software up to date, and keeping regular backups in case of future problems.

A password should be a combination of alphabets, numbers, and special characters. It is important to have your password in your head. Jotting it down on a piece of paper or having them in a folder on your desktop is very risky.

How do I know if I have a Virus?

A virus can be a tricky thing to identify and can be even trickier to get rid of. Today, I thought I would talk about some of the ways that you can identify a virus or malware on your computer.

Your Anti-Virus Gives a Warning

A warning from your antivirus program is the most obvious way to tell you have a have a virus. Often times, these are also the easiest viruses to get rid of since your antivirus can often successfully remove these types of viruses.

Constant Popups

If you are experiencing constant popups, then you may also have a virus. Generally, these will be drastic and won’t necessarily be browser popups. Also, you may notice that they popup when you are not even trying to browse the Internet. An example of this is a popup that tells you that your computer is infected and that you need to purchase their antivirus software to fix your PC. In this example, this popup will NOT be from the antivirus you currently have.

Your Computer is Now Extremely Slow

Another sign of a virus is that your computer was very peppy and all of the sudden it has become so slow that it is almost unusable. This could be another problem for sure, but a likely issue is that a virus or malware has taken over your computer.

Constant Weird Behavior

Another common sign of a virus or malware is constant weird behavior. Weird behavior can be a lot of things. Some examples include programs constantly opening that you haven’t opened, you keep losing control of the mouse/keyboard, when trying to browse the Internet you keep getting redirected to random sites, etc. All of these plus more are signs that a virus or malware has infected your PC.

These are the most common signs of a virus or malware. Also, keep in mind that a virus can be something that you don’t see as well. Some malware tries to stay hidden on purpose so you don’t detect it. It will stay hidden and try to spy on you to get sensitive information such as passwords and financial information.

A Virus can be nasty and that is why it is important to have a good anti-virus program installed. You should also keep the anti-virus definitions up to date and you also need to keep your operating system up to date as well.

Must-Dos When Your Computer is Infected

Here is a great article by mike darwin talking about what do do when your computer gets infected with spyware or a virus.  This is a great how-to for getting rid of the problems.

By Mike Darwin

If you see the message, “Your computer is infected. Windows has detected spyware infection”, on your PC, be wary about installing just any anti-spyware software program. This could just be a clever way of tricking PC owners into downloading spyware into their computer system.

Spyware programs, along with computer viruses, have become among the top Internet threats that PC owners and Internet surfers face. When one’s computer system becomes spyware infected, one becomes very vulnerable to identity theft. Through these programs, it becomes easier for some malicious software developers to steal information about the PC owner. What makes this even worse is that new spyware programs are created every day, each one more sophisticated and more potentially damaging than the previous versions.

Spyware can be a source of major computer trouble. Because it is, PC owners have to get themselves a reliable anti-spyware software program. However, if one’s PC is not yet infected with spyware, certain steps have to be followed to keep it that way. In addition, PC owners should be aware of the methods on how spyware can be transferred or injected to one’s computer system.

One of the proven and tested ways of getting that dreaded spyware infection is when you click a link on a message that suddenly appears on your screen telling you that you need an anti-spyware software. When this flashing message appears on your screen, close it by using the ctrl/alt/delete method that is usually used to manually close some programs. Do not use the close button, as it might be part of the active link that is waiting to be transferred to your PC.

PC owners have to be careful about downloading certain programs to their computer system. Moreover, Internet users also have to veer away from free downloadable programs as these are almost always unreliable. Always choose paid anti-spyware software programs instead. To help you in making a good choice, make sure to read the reviews of these products. With an efficient anti-spyware tool in your arsenal, you will no longer receive deceiving messages saying that your computer is infected with spyware.

PC infested with stubborn spyware and adware? Read this detailed anti-spyware software review and discover which is the most highly-rated spyware remover in the market.

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