What To Do If A Virus Attacks Your PC?

When a virus infection occurs in your PC, there are a number of problems that can crop up. The computer may function erroneously, Windows could keep crashing or you may repeatedly lose data on your hard disk.

Despite the availability of effective anti-virus solutions currently that block most of the old viruses from your PC, new viruses are created daily and sent in different ways to bypass the most stringent security barriers. You may even have the misfortune to be the first victim of an unknown virus.

When you notice your PC functioning oddly, there is no need to panic. Remain calm and first of all, disconnect your computer from the Internet as it is the source for most viruses to use your PC for illegal purposes and even spread further. Unplug network and Internet cables to eliminate the possibility of the virus spreading further to other computers. In case of inability to reboot your computer, try doing it in safe mode. If you can't do so, repair Windows installation with a Windows CD. If all the data on your computer's hard disk can be accessed, take a backup immediately before you risk losing it. Take only important data in backup as anything unnecessary may only increase the chances of re-infection by viruses.

Get an anti-virus application installed if you haven't already got one in your computer and make sure manual virus definition updates are supported by the program. Certain viruses prevent installation of anti-virus programs. If you are unable to install, there are stand-alone anti-virus solutions available as well with no installation required at all. Don't interrupt the scan everytime a virus is detected until the scanning is completed. A good anti-virus will give you the option to heal, quarantine or delete the infected file easily. Once the virus is removed, repair Windows to make sure that it functions smoothly. Also install the latest Windows patches to protect your PC from re-infection of viruses.

In case no virus is found, there may be problems in the hardware and software creating incompatibility. Try and uninstall any software you have installed recently and boot the PC with the minimal hardware components required.

Should even this fail to solve the problem, make no further attempts. Trying to correct the problem on your own may lead to the risk of losing all your data. Consult a technician instead and if you are certain of an undetected virus infection, contact your anti-virus vendor as well.

The old saying, prevention is better than cure holds true for this situation too. Get a good anti-virus solution with the latest updates and update your Windows with the latest patches regularly. Also recommended are a good anti-spyware tool and a firewall. Leading anti-virus vendors also offer security suites as a one-stop solution for all PC-related security concerns.

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» SPAMfighter News - 8/26/2006