INTERNET SECURITY BY: Lorn Conner
They say the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. At first, it may be easy to dismiss - after all, nobody is perfect.
But left unchecked, the problem worsens - unexplained comings and goings,
schizophrenic behavior, abusive language, and complete failure to communicate. What's worse is the behavior seemed to change overnight!
If a computer you know begins to display these symptoms:
- Random website launches without user interaction, or launching unrelated websites from a Web Search
- Unexplained spikes in data transfer rates, or suddenly constricted bandwidth
- Error messages such as "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down", or "This page can not be displayed" when you know that you are connected to the internet
- Inability to navigate to any site on the internet, or to check your email
You may have a
virus or spyware problem. Taken individually, any of these problems could have an innocuous explanation - but together, they usually point to a larger cause, particularly if you have recently installed new software on your computer.
This article provides links to unsupported software that may help you diagnose or correct the problem.
These links are provided as-is, and use of the software at these links is at your own risk. Genext will not provide support for use of the software included in this article.
LAVASOFT AD-AWARE SE
Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE is the industries leading
free spyware detection and removal tool. Lavasoft regularly updates the spyware definition file, so it pays to scan weekly for updates to the software.
After you have installed and updated the software, simply hit the "Scan Now" button. Ad-Aware will scan your computer for known pieces of spyware or malware. When the scan is completed, you will be presented with a list of critical issues which Ad-Aware can attempt to correct. Simply select the objects you wish to have Ad-Aware attempt to correct, and click the "Next Button." With luck, malicious software which has degraded your Internet surfing experience will be removed!
SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY
Spybot Search and Destroy is the 2nd leading free spyware detection and removal tool that I recommend. If Ad-Aware can't find your problem, Spybot Search and Destroy just may have the goods.
Like Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy is regularly updated with new spyware definitions, and is free to download.
Simply install the software, and go through the initial steps of backing up your registry, applying updates to the software, and performing the initial scan. Once Spybot has finished scanning the drive, you can choose to try to remove any malicious software that it finds.
HOUSE CALL ANTI-VIRUS
Housecall is a free online virus scanner, the web based version of Trend Micros' popular PC-Cillan antivirus suite. To scan your computer for viruses, go to
http://housecall.antivirus.com and click on the "
Scan Now - It's Free!" link.
When the Active-X installation window appears on your screen,
click "Yes" to install the virus pattern and definition file. This will likely take some time -
be patient!
Once the software is downloaded, you will be presented with a checklist of drives to scan for viruses.
Select all of the drives and hit the "Scan" button to the right. The antivirus software will scan your drive for viruses, and attempt to remove any that it finds.