Getting a computer virus is not fun, but if your computer is still
somewhat functioning and you have access to the internet, then you can
find free virus protection and removal software to download. There are
different symptoms that you may encounter when your computer has a
virus. It may start to become extra slow in processing most programs,
especially the internet. You may start to see random window pop ups
frequently. You may have trouble accessing certain files. If you
suspect that you have a computer virus, then it is important to act
fast.
My computer was recently attacked by a virus that caused
pop up windows from Internet Explorer to open nearly every few
minutes. I was able to successfully eradicate the virus with free
virus protection and removal software found online. I do not claim to
be a computer expert, but the following steps helped me to restore my
computer to good health and I have not had another virus attack since
then.
First, if you are using Internet Explorer, you want to
download the latest version of <a
href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/">Mozilla Firefox</a>, or
other internet browser program. Internet Explorer is the most commonly
used internet browser for both homes and businesses. And because it is
the most commonly used browser, it tends to be the browser that gets
targeted for most virus attacks, as hackers usually aim to infect as
many computers as possible through internet browsers.
Mozilla Firefox
has a great set of build in tools that are the first defense against
computer viruses and they have frequent updates to their browser that
downloads in seconds versus the long downtime that Internet Explorer
needs in order to download.
Next, you want to download <a
href="http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html?tag=contentBody;mostPopTwoColWrap">AVG
Anti Virus Free Edition Software</a>. AVG is the most popular
free anti virus protection and removal software, I would go as far as
to say it is a better tool than the expensive Symantec Anti-Virus
program that most new personal computers are downloaded with
initially. There is a free version of AVG and also a paid version, but
for most the free version will work just fine.
Once the AVG free
anti-virus protection and removal software is downloaded, you should
start a scan that will search through all of your computer files for
any red flags. This process will take anywhere from 2-4 hours
depending on how many files you have on your computer.
Once
the full computer scan is done, AVG will give you a report of infected
files. Choose to quarantine these infected files so that they do not
cause any more harm. Now restart your computer and continue to use as
normal.
If you computer is still acting up, then you will need
to take further steps. AVG works best with a completely virus-free
computer because it will then provide great protection, but if you have
a heavily hidden virus, then it may not be able to find it. AVG was
unable to find the virus that had infected my computer, so I took the
following steps.
Go to <a
href="http://download.cnet.com/windows/">CNET Downloads</a>,
this is a free download section of CNET. Don't worry, CNET is a
trusted name in computer news and technologies and they have a lot of
great (and free) resources available.
Once on the CNET Download page, scroll down and look for their top ten
downloads. Now look specifically for "Malwarebytes Anti-Malware".
Begin to download - this is a free virus protection and removal program
that hunts down those hard to find viruses.
After the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program is downloaded, begin a full
computer scan. Again this could take anywhere from 2-4 hours. After
the scan, remove any files that were found to be corrupt. Restart your
computer and begin to use as you normally would.
The above steps had helped me to recover and restore my personal
computer. If you own computer is still continuing to act up, then go
back to the <a href="http://download.cnet.com/windows/">CNET
Downloads page</a> and download more free anti virus protection
and removal software and continue to scan your system. Depending on
your virus, some anti virus programs will work better than others.
After your computer has been restored, you can always delete the anti
virus programs that you do not need; although I would keep the AVG Anti
Virus Protection Software and set it to perform daily or weekly scans
on your whole computer for optimum computer health. The AVG program
runs in the background while you do other work and hardly slows down
your system.
Important Note: Downloading anti virus protection and removal software
is only the first step. It is crucial that you maintain updates on
your computer programs and internet browsers. Do not get complacent;
when a new version of the software comes out take a few moments to
download it. To put things into perspective, it took me over 8 hours
to finally eradicate the computer virus that I had on my laptop -- had
I updated my internet browser I may have been able to avoid it
altogether.