Computer Virus and Malware Deletion
Is your computer infected with computer viruses and spyware? Are you having difficulty opening your Internet web browser? If so, we can help! The technicians at Toledo Computer Repair are trained to quickly identify and remove viruses, spyware, adware, and other Internet security issues.
Spyware is a real problem on a majority of the computers we service for the first time. While most computers come with anti-virus software, preventing and removing spyware and/or malware requires different products.
Do children use your computer at home, or do employees use computers at work? Unless you supervise them 100% of the time, and you know you don’t, then there is a strong probability that your computer is infected!
At best, spyware is an annoyance that leads to pop-up ads and reduced computer performance. In the worst case scenario, malware / spyware allows undesirables to gain access to all the sensitive information on your computer.
Listed below are just some of the issues that computer viruses and malware can trigger:
- Unusually slow computer response
- Frequent pop-ups and/or pop-unders
- Unable to visit your favorite websites
- Frequent “Page cannot be displayed” error messages
- Your home page and/or search engine is hijacked and/or redirected to different websites
- Your Internet connection is lost or slows down every now and then
- Your Anti-Virus software becomes disabled or uninstalled
- Critical Microsoft Windows® updates and security patches are not unavailable
What our computer virus and malware services include:
- Virus detection, isolation, and removal
- Spyware detection, isolation, and removal
- Malware detection, isolation, and removal
- Clean up unnecessary and temporary files
- Check system for high priority updates
- Recommend “best practices” for reducing your exposure to viruses and spyware
- Recommend anti-virus software suite
- Recommend anti-spyware software suite
Terminology Definitions:
Malware, short for “malicious software”, is computer software written for the purpose of disrupting the operation of a large number of computers, of accessing computers that normally cannot be accessed or of stealing private information. These programs come in several forms: viruses, worms, spyware, adware, rootkits, backdoors or Trojan horses. There is a lot of money to be made in creating and disseminating these types of programs, and hackers are devising new programs on a daily basis. If you do not protect your computer against these threats, you run the risk of having private and financial information stolen. The primary method of malware spread is via the internet.
Types of Malware:
Adware:
Adware is software that initiates advertisements such as pop-ups or pop-unders on a user’s computer. Much adware is innocuous (although annoying). But some adware can contain internal programs which can insert key-loggers or other malicious software onto a user’s computer.
Spyware:
Spyware is downloaded onto your computer and collects information without the user of the computer knowing it is doing so. Often spyware is in the form of a key-logger which logs every keystroke of the computer user. This is especially dangerous because a key-logger can tip off whoever is receiving the information to passwords, credit card numbers, bank account numbers or other sensitive information. Sometimes spyware is used in corporations to maintain the integrity of their employees.
Trojan Horses:
These are malicious programs that are disguised as programs that a user would normally want not or use. Typically these are packaged with legitimate software, and so the user unknowingly installs it onto their computer. Often Trojan horses do not cause havoc immediately, but wait to disseminate their malicious code at a later date.
Viruses:
The most well-known piece of malware is the computer virus. This program can “infect” your computer and proliferate at a rapid pace. Like biological viruses, a computer virus can replicate itself within the host computer and then “go wild” where it is sent to a large number of computers connected to the host computer.
Anti-Virus and Malware Tools</>
Disclaimer: Please note that we are not responsible for data loss due to and including, but not limited to viruses, malware, spyware, hardware failure, data corruption, etc.