Computer Viruses 101— How to Avoid & Get Rid of Them
Computer viruses. They are one of the biggest worries for computer owners. And the worst thing about them is that there’s no knowing when they will strike until they do (without notice) and you find yourself at sea.
Maybe you should ask for help from one your techy friends, visit an online computer viruses forum online where people could have encountered computer virus problems similar to yours and see how they disinfected their computers or visit a computer repair in Decatur, Al shop. In virtually all the cases, the latter (computer repair in Decatur, Al services) will always give you the most pertinent solution. The cloud security platform is where you can find ways to secure your data.
That said, how do you know if your computer is infected by a virus?
Diagnosing Computer Viruses
You noticed for a while that your computer’s speed has started to slow down, crash often, show weird pop-up messages, or that certain programs are behaving in a weird way (not responding for minutes, sending weird messages to people in your network, or launching automatically without your consent). These are indicators that your computer is infected with viruses.
Combating Computer Viruses
As already mentioned, consulting computer repair in Decatur, Al services is the surest way of getting rid of a computer virus infection. Regardless, computer repair in Decatur, Al specialists recommend you get off the road with the following steps when dealing with a computer virus infection:
- Do a backup for all the important files
The last thing you want is to permanently lose all your important files and documents after a computer virus infection. It is for this reason that you should save your essential data on the cloud or on external storage devices such as drives, USB sticks, and drives. Computer repair in Decatur, Al specialists recommend that you use backup tools that also allow you to scan the backed-up files for viruses to avoid re-infecting your computer after a successful cleanup.
- Switch your PC to safe mode with networking
Safe mode with networking is a function that inhibits certain virus instructions from starting up. Here’s how computer repair in Decatur, Al gurus go about it:
- Unplug any external storage devices such as CDs, DVDs, and USB drives from your computer and then power it off.
- Power your computer up and press the f8 button repeatedly until it brings up the safe mode with networking settings.
*Expert tip from computer repair in Decatur Al experts: “safe mode with networking settings can be found on the Advanced Startup Options Menu in the most recent versions of windows”.
- Consult a computer repair in Decatur, AI specialist for the best malware removal tool
Rather than do it yourself, computer repair in Decatur, Al specialists who have been in the business for long are in a better position to identify a serious malware removal tool for you.
- Block a virus reinjection from your browser
Most computer viruses alter your browser’s Target Field to show spam ads, facilitate malicious downloads, spy on your online activity, and to re-infect your computer after a successful virus cleanup.
To view your browser’s target, right click on your browser’s desktop shortcut and click on “properties”. A normal browser’s target should be something like this:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe”
An altered target will have an additional URL at the end such as:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe”www.newsalerts.com
You can fix this by removing the URL that comes after the “exe”. Other viruses will simply change your preset homepage. You can reset this to default or to your preferred homepage URL via your browser’s General Settings.
Avoiding a computer virus infection right from the start
When it comes to computer viruses, computer repair in Decatur, Al specialists always stress that prevention is better than cure. This is especially keeping in mind that some viruses can even operate stealthily without affecting your computer’s performance and end up spying on critical info such as credit card information, login passwords and other personal information such as email addresses & physical addresses.
The following are computer repair in Decatur, Al expert–recommended measures to avoid a computer virus infection right from the start:
- Always use updated software and drivers
Outdated software and drivers are more susceptible to virus attacks than their up-to-date versions. The best way to make sure that you do not miss out on any software & drivers updates is to enable Automatic Software and Driver Updates on your computer.
*Windows users’ bonus tip from computer repair in Decatur, Al experts: always make sure that you are using the most recent version of Windows Defender.
- Remember to visit a computer repair in Decatur, Al shop near you for an antivirus program installation
Perhaps the most important thing of all is to make sure that you have an antivirus program installed on your computer. An antivirus program is a must-have if you intend to keep your computer devices safe from all types of malware infections.