Computer Virus Recovery
Computer viruses are a fact of modern day life, if you have a computer you are susceptable to viruses / malware and other forms of attack.
A virus is little more than a program designed to self propogate and generally do things that you'd prefer it not to. Viruses are called many things, Adware, Trackers, Trojans, Keyloggers, Malware , depending on the type of threat that they pose, but in general no matter what the name, you really dont want them on your computer.
The most harmless viruses will do nothing more than track your viewing habits and pass this data to other sites so you will get targetted adverts for things you've searched for, the worst types will scan your computer or monitor your typing, passing this information to someone else, allowing others to gain access to passwords, bankcodes and other sensitive data.
How do I know I have a virus ?
- computer freezing for short periods of time
- programs running very slow
- computer getting unusually hot (excessive fan noise)
- inability to access certain websites
- advertising popups
- programs seeming opening or closing themseves
- warnings that you have a vast number of errors or infections
- browser home page changing without your consent
Any of the above should be treated as warning signs, as a first step to protect yourself turn your computer off. In the event that you need to get data off your computer or execute a backup, make sure that your computer is disconnected from the internet when doing so (unplug the network cable, disable Wi-Fi or both). Do not access on-line banking or other sites requiring passwords before you have had your computer checked.
Siteweb65 offers you a complete cleaning service for your computer, this comprehensive clean checks every aspect of your machine for Malware, Adware, Keyloggers, Trojans, Bootsector viruses amongst others.
Cleaning a computer requires that we delete files and registry entries, it is strongly advised that you have a current backup of your data before we embark on a deep clean process. If you dont have a backup we can perform one before we start work, but we need to know this in advance !!
If you need advice of how to set up a regular backup regime for your computer we will be happy to advise an set this up for you, even if you dont have a virus issue.
Yeah but I use an Apple
You may have been led to believe that you don't have to worry about computer viruses on your Apple, and to some extent, that's true.
Your Mac is only a computer and can 100% be infected with malware, BUT, Apple's built-in malware database and quarantine system means it is less likely that you'll be able to run malicious software.
Apple's malware detection was introduced with Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6). The system quarantines of any program downloaded from the Internet, then uses certificates to verify if that program has come from a legitimate source. Files that are in quarantine or not signed will display a warning before allowing you to open them, files that match known malware signatures cannot be opened under any circumstances. And this is why Macs remain mostly virus and malware free.
You need to make sure your Mac's malware database is always up to date, verify that your Mac is set to always automatically install security updates.
HOWEVER: even this fantastic system as a weak spot or two, assume that you download a virus that doesnt appear in the malware database, on running the file you will get the "author unknown" warning, and if you continue to run the file you would be infected. Also it's worthwhile noting your Mac can harbour viruses written for other operating systems, so it can in fact become a carrier of viruses, not being infected itself, but passing on these viruses on to other machines you have !! A regular virus scan will pick these up and destroy them leaving you clean.
