Computer Solutions in the greater brisbane area.
Virus Removal
These days, we see a lot of machines infected with all kinds of nasties. Spyware, adware, malware and viruses are everywhere, and millions of computers are infected every month. Many users are becoming more aware of the problem and able to identify when they have a problem with infection, but the challenge they then face is what to do about virus removal?
We saw a case just this week where a computer owner quickly realised her machine was compromised. Knowing a little about computers, she proceeded to try and reload the computer herself, and after spending a few hours working on it, realised she couldn’t get the machine back up and running, and then brought it into our office.
She is one of the lucky ones; The problem with trying to remove virus infections yourself is that you don’t really know if you have cleaned the computer 100%. There are virus removal tools you can download and run, but they do not guarantee a 100% clean machine, because it’s simply not possible to be sure. Once your machine is infected, the malware agents can mask themselves, and even intercept your attempts to clean them.
The answer is always to completely wipe your computer clean and start from scratch. I’m sure the client I mentioned above thought the same thing, but again, it’s not always that simple. Putting the disk that came with your computer into the machine and following the instructions might work, but it might also leave the data on the hard drive, and you could waste hours only to be right back where you started.
If you know what you’re doing, reformatting your drive and reinstalling Windows, your programs and data files is the way to go. Just make sure you backup your computer first, so you don’t lose any files, photos or music you have on the computer.
If you aren’t sure of how to go about that, the best solution is to have a professional take care of it for you. Shift Computer Solutions, for example, can format, reload and configure your computer quickly, and effectively. Plus, we know all the tricks for configuring your computer so that when you get it back, it’s hardened against reinfection.
The Final Word: Do what you can to avoid infection in the first place. Don’t visit dodgy websites, make sure you are using OpenDNS on your home network, have a good quality anti virus solution (we suggest ESET), and keep your computer up to date.
