Virus and Malware Information

Viruses, Trojans, Worms and Malware Viruses come in many, many different forms. Trojans and worms can be looked at as a subset of viruses - a separate strain. They work differently but the final result can be just as aggravating - often more so.

Adware and Spyware - generally referred to as malware - are not viruses per se but need to be treated just as aggressively as any virus. These applications like to send out information about you and your Web surfing habits. Where do you think many of your oddball emails come from?

Here are some steps to try prior to calling anyone for help:

• Update your antivirus software and run a full system scan. Your program should be running automatically anyway. Make sure it's scanning once a week during off hours.
  Note: If your antivirus software can't update its database, you probably already have a virus onboard.
• If you know the name of the virus you have you can go to www.sarc.com and try to find the specific removal tool.
• You can find a free online virus scanner at: housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp. You'll need to download their database to get started but it can be a lifesaver.
• There are many programs available that are designed to remove Adware and/or Spyware. Our favorites are Ad-Aware SE and Spybot Search and Destroy. Both are free and can be downloaded here:

  Ad-Aware SE

  Spybot Search and Destroy

• If you're running Windows XP (SP2) or Windows 2000 (SP4), Microsoft's Windows Defender is their latest offering that seems to do a pretty good job of protecting your system. Get it free from Microsoft.
• You can run all of these programs on your machine concurrently.

If all of this fails to get you up and running, give us a call at 248-890-8774. We're here to help!