What_to_Do_in_the_Event_of_a_Virus_Alert

What to do in the Event of a Virus Alert Brittany Raymond-Upton COMM/218 Carolyn Geiser July 1, 2013 What to do in the Event of a Virus Alert Nowadays, it is very easy to infect one’s computer with a virus or malware simply by opening an email from someone we are unfamiliar with or clicking on the wrong link while surfing the World Wide Web. The operating systems on most new computers already have some sort of virus protection loaded on them, or can easily be downloaded from various websites, or uploaded from a disk. In fact, I personally just purchased a new laptop last week and not only did my new laptop come with a trial version of McAfee anti-virus software, but Best Buy provided me with a six month trial version of Webroot anti-virus software. Anti-virus software can be set to run scheduled scans on a regular basis. When these scans are performed and a virus is detected a warning message will appear. However, in between regular scans the user may not initially realize the computer is infected until all of a sudden the user notices the computer is not operating like normal. There are signs one can look for as a guide their computer is infected including but not limited to: the computer is performing at a slower level than normal, is frequently freezing or stops responding all together, or it crashes and restarts a lot; Another sign is the computer is displaying unfamiliar error messages, disk drives can’t be accessed, or applications are not running properly (Microsoft, 2013). There are steps the user can take to remove the virus themselves once it is detected. If the anti-virus software detects the infection, most of the time the software can remove the virus itself by simply following the prompts on the screen; however, occasionally the user may have to remove the virus manually. To manually remove a virus, it is important to try and identify the name of the virus either through the anti-virus software or if the computer does not have one installed on it the user may be able to research the name by the characteristics being displayed. The user should document any error messages being displayed on the screen or if the virus was obtained as the result of an email write down the subject line or name of the file attachment (Microsoft, 2013). Once this has been done, the user can search different anti-virus merchant’s website for references on the virus and step-by-step instructions on how to remove it. If the user does not feel experienced enough to manually remove the virus themselves then they have the option to take the computer to an expert at a computer repair shop. Once the virus is removed, steps may need to be taken by the user or repair shop to reinstall different programs that were lost as a result of the virus. To help prevent loss of any important information off the computer it is in the best interest of the user to perform regular backups in the event the computer were to be become infected again. References Microsoft. (2013). How to remove and avoid computer viruses. Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/antivirus.aspx