All About Viruses And Malware
First off, an obligatory disclaimer. I’m not going to guarantee that you’ll never get a virus, nor is this post a bible for avoiding them entirely. People make mistakes, and click on that thing that you know you shouldn’t have clicked on. Trusted sources get infected on occasion, the list goes on. This post does however, bring awareness to an issue that has plagued computer users for decades.
I also want to dispel some common myths and misconceptions while we’re here:
- Yes, Mac’s and even Linux machines can be infected.
- No, just having Antivirus isn’t going to keep you from ever getting a virus.
- No, it’s not always obvious that you’re infected.
- No, the Blue Screen of Death is not a virus.
- No, it’s not just the adult sites that are infected.
Also I want to clarify that there are many different types of malware, between viruses, adware, spyware and many other types, the threat is ever-evolving. As with many types of threats, the best way to handle them is to try to prevent them.
What Can I Do?
From the beginning, make the investment to get a decent antivirus. I don’t recommend the free Avast and AVG options, not only because they aren’t very effective but because they also track your data. Also the bundled Avast VPN has terrible performance and will time out sites you visit (I’ve literally resolved network issues by uninstalling this garbage).
You can run a search for the most recent recommendations from PC magazines, but some that I’ve had anecdotal good experiences with include Vipre, Bitdefender, Webroot. Note, Malwarebytes does have an antivirus option but the free one you download is not a virus scanner. I wouldn’t recommend installing these as it only takes up resources and can conflict with your main Antivirus software. I’ve even at times observe that they see each other as viruses and start trying to remove each other.
The next step is my favorite, back up your data! Regardless of what you do, make sure to go into your Antivirus settings and point an additional scan location TO where your backup is. You don’t want to go infecting your backup (or backing up your infection), wipe your computer and then just copy the infection right back.
The next thing you can do is install an ad block called Ublock Origin for your browser of choice. Firefox is the best choice of course, but if you choose Chrome or Edge or some other browser, you should be able to install it on those as well.
You will also want to practice safe browsing habits and not installing sketchy software. I know this one is kind of a catch-22 for a lot of people because it’s kind of a you-don’t-know-what-you-don’t-know situation. Luckily many Antiviruses come with browser add-ons that will check links when you perform a web search. You can also use this site from Google, copy and past the link:
https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search
How Do I Know If I’m Infected?
Depending on the type of infection you have, it may be super obvious, or it may not be. One type of malware that is common is Ransomware, which encrypts your files and promises you the key to unlock if you pay them. They don’t usually give you the key, which is why the backup is so important.
You might also notice a sudden slowness or degradation of performance. I’m specifying ‘sudden’ here because over time most users will experience slowness over time due to various factors impacting their workflow or habits or just plain buildup of local cache. There is a big difference between “Yeah it’s not as quick as it used to be” and “Oh wow, why is my computer so slow all the sudden?”
Your machine might also exhibit extreme random behavior such as opening things that you didn’t open, pop ups and other annoyances. I’m inserting this loosely as it can be an infection, but it might not be. I’ve seen plenty of users allow notifications for various sites in their browser, and it spams notifications on the screen. They think they are infected but it ends up being a simple case of removing the site from having notification permissions.
You may also think something is just off, and only you can really say. Regardless, you will probably want to seek help from someone who knows how to handle these issues, if your Antivirus is unsuccessful.
I Think I’m Infected, What Now?
If you use your computer for work or school, you likely have IT that you can call to help resolve your issues. If you are just the Average Joe I would honestly recommend Geek Squad support, they charge like $200 a year (which is around what you’ll pay on average for two hours of labor in most shops), and then you can take it in as many times as you need. Do once a quarter and you’ve saved yourself around $600. Plus the Antivirus is included, (out of their choices I recommend Webroot), and the whole household is covered.
You also get various other odds and ends like discounts and other services than just malware removal. They run diagnostics of hardware with those malware scans and will wipe and reload if needed as well. They do charge a small fee for on site visits and the tech support does not cover backup services but like I said, if you have a few machines in your house and take them to get scanned and optimized every so often you’ve saved quite a lot that you would have spent elsewhere.