It can be a worrisome and frustrating thing if you end up with a virus or other type of Malware on your computer. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to deal with such problems and keep your computer secure. It’s important you implement such solutions as quickly as possible in order to minimize any potential damage that could occur as a result of such threats to your computer.
Antivirus
One of the best ways to ensure that your computer is safe from threats is to make sure you have up to date antivirus software. Most computers will let you know if you don’t have proper antivius, but it’s good to check anyway just to be on the safe side. There are many types of antivirus that you can use, both free and paid. It’s also true that you can use antivirus even after you have a virus. You don’t need to use it only as prevention.
Once you run the scanner, it should find the problem on your computer. You can then select to remove it. If this doesn’t work, and the virus seems to come back again and again, it’s possible you have something particularly nasty like a rootkit. In this case, you need to restart into safe mode if you’re running windows. This will make it so that the virus can’t reinstall. If you run your scanner and delete the virus during safe mode, it will go much better for you.
It may also be useful to disconnect your computer physically from the Internet while removing viruses since some use the Internet to function.
Prevention
One of the best ways to fight malware and viruses is to not get them in the first place by having good Internet practices. Basically, avoid clicking on any links or downloadable files unless you are sure you know exactly what they are, and that they are safe. Many Internet sites that aren’t safe can automatically download files into your computer without you even giving permission. Simply visiting the site can be all the permission needed.
Another good preventative measure is to make sure that you are the only one who uses your computer with the ability to download files. Many people end up with viruses because someone else used their computer in an unsafe way. If others need to use your computer, make sure that they are safe with how they download.
Scanning regularly with an antimalware or antivirus program is a useful way to make sure that you avoid serious fallout from these threats as well. Sometimes threat may slip past your defenses, so it’s a good idea to regularly scan to catch them early.