What do I do if I have a Virus? (Virus Removal and Protection)
This article covers what to do if you have a virus, or suspect you have a virus on your computer.
THE CAUSE
You are usually vulnerable to a virus under the following conditions:
1. You have virus protection on your computer, but it is not up-to-date.
2. You have virus protection on your computer, but the virus got through anyway.
3. You have no virus protection at all.
THE SYMPTOMS
Your computer is behaving strangely or in an unexpected way, for example files disappear or become corrupted, your email program seems to be sending emails but you don’t actually see anything being sent or your Internet browser keeps redirecting to websites that you didn’t want to go to. There a re many other possible symptoms, but in most cases you will notice that something is wrong.
For all of the above, there are perfectly reasonable explanations that may not be a virus, such as hardware and software malfunctions, but they could also be the result of your system being infected, so it is wise and prudent to do something about it, bearing in mind that you can do so for free.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT YOU HAVE A VIRUS ON YOUR COMPUTER
Disclaimer: These steps would help in most cases, but if your system is so badly damaged that it is beyond repair, the following steps may be too late, and some of your data may be lost. You follow them at your own risk. Then again, if you have a virus on your machine, you probably need to do something about it anyway.
If you already have virus protection on your computer:
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a. Make sure it is up-to-date and in licence. If it has expired and you no longer have virus updates, then it is as good as not being there at all. Either renew your licence and scan your computer for viruses, or uninstall it and follow the steps below.
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b. Make sure you do not have more than one virus protection program on your computer. Having more than one provides less, not more, protection. Virus protection programs clash with each other and are likely to reduce your protection. If necessary uninstall the surplus virus programs (but make sure you keep the one that still has an update subscription, if you have one).
NOW FOR VIRUS SCANNING
My approach uses three sets of tools to ensure that if you do have a virus, it is detected and removed:
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b. Now download and run the free virus tool from McAfee, stinger.
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c. Finally download and runAd Aware on your machine. The free version will do. This will check to see that you do not have “spyware” on your computer. Nasty programs that send information about you to their creators, or change your settings to serve you unwanted commercial advertising.
Important note: The above programs tend to detect “tracking cookies” as a “threat”. It is likely that quite a few of those would be found on any computer. Though unwanted, they are NOT the risk that is causing you problems. Remove them when asked, but if they are the only thing your scans have found, then your system is very unlikely to have a virus on it.
AND FINALLY – PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FUTURE ATTACKS
By this stage you are likely to know if your computer has indeed had a virus. The scans would have revealed it, and helped you fix the problem. Now is the time to think about protecting your computer longer term, by installing a virus protection program that will reside on your PC and guard it from new threats. Just look up virus and internet protection on Amazon or in your preferred store.
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Cheers for the virus advice…use the free AVG one myself and been pleased to date. However PC is not running as it should, found lots of issues with the registry files/add & remove programmes etc. What can you recommend for this?
Nice site by the way. Came on here to view the iwantgreatcare piece and been lost for a while. Well done…good work.
My Hotmail Account got hacked. Spam email was sent to all my contacts. This article was very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to write it. /Bob
thanks for comprehensive explanation. I have informed hotmail but no reply yet!I have done the virus checks as you said and no virus detected. Do people buy from these spoof sites?
Btw does stringer and trendo microvirus tool conflict with norton internet security?
I have an Imac and my hotmail was hacked and spam sent to my contacts….how do I fix this , it is the third time it has happened.
hello
i dnt know wats going wrong wid my hotmail account………..
a msil is sent to all my contact list i.e hey i dnt know what and why dis you did to me.???
and i dnt know who is sending all dis msg from ma id……….
tell me wat is dis???? and wat should i do?????
Hmm – me too, my hotmail account is sending spam emails to my contacts – except i’ve deleted my contacts, it’s sending them to people who have sent emails to me… have i been hacked, or is it a virus..? Microsoft &hotmail websites are no help & can’t find anywhere to report it…
my hotmail account got hacked and spam was sent out and now it is blocked i tried to sign in and i cannot remember my security answers how do i fix this i have had this account for years i dont wqnt to loose my contacts??? pls help :.)
Hotmail acct hacked too. Thanks for the info. Hope it helps.
My contact list was hacked, also, with my contacts getting spam from my account. I have changed my password and hopefully that will fix the problem. I have no viruses–I keep my protection current. Is there a way I can close out the account if I have to. I’m not sure that I’ve seen any way to do that. Any help is greatly appreciated.
When I decide to forward ‘fun/joke’ mail to whomever of my friends when I bring up their addresses then up in my forward-to box is this sole ‘name’….
NakedChatshh… no address or such.
Naturally I instanted delete it from the forward to address list I’m sending the particular mail to.
Trouble is I cannot find a way of deleting NakedChatshh from my address listing when I bring it up as NakedChatshh does NOT appear in my address listing IF I’m NOT forwarding mail.
How can I ultimately resolve the problem??
Sign into your hotmail account, then Go to your windows live. Now “turn down” or deny your invitation to join the group or to be friends sort-of-speak with NakedChatshh.
Once you have done this, this name will now be removed from your contact list. You did not put it there. NakedChatshh put it there pending your approval of this frienship. It is like face book that way. So don’t accept. In case you did already accepted, just enter the group in windows live, and hit “LEAVE GROUP”
just look for the group called NakedChatshh
My email is being used by someone else. I’m unable to log on and certain contacts have notified me of a disturbing e-mail they recieved from my address.
why can’t i get an answer to my question. my hotmail account has been hacked. spam send to all my contacts on my list. hotmail blocked my account. now i can’t get in to my contact list and other info. / folders etc. i have tried several things. changed my password to a strong one. that still does not get me in. they keep asking me for my code, which i don’t remember but wont’t let me make a new code and contact email. i answered all the security questions except for the one i never had like an X box account. does any one have a real answer to my question? all i want is to get into my hotmail account. forget about hotmail. you simply can’t talk to any one live. and when you follow their advice you get stuck somewhere in the process. thanks in advance. emmy
A senior friend recently started using a laptop this year and already all contacts have received a phony message. Today a similar message is coming around. Changing the password does not seem to help. Would it be advisable to just get a new hotmail account with a mixed symbol/number/alphabet password?
This is nice, however, it assumes that everyone’s using a PC. Obviously, that’s not the case, as Apple has 100 billion in the bank. I’m on a Mac and my hotmail was hacked. So how do I do a virus protection on a Mac? I got the software here as recommended, but it doesn’t work on a mac.
Chris,
Those using a Mac are a lot less likely to have a virus.
However, if you are worried, you can download the free Sophos anti-virus for Mac, which is here:
http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx
my hotmail has been Haked. Now it looks like as if it is written in Chinease!! how can I get it back?