Virus Removal

Has your PC, laptop, or netbook come down with a nasty virus? Is it running slow or refusing to even turn on? Atomic will not only remove viruses, but make sure your chances of getting infected again are slim to none. We have the latest scanning technology and years of experience with virus removal, infected computers of all shapes and sizes. No problem is too big or small, and we offer affordable rates to get you back in business and running smoothly again. Below are some helpful terms to understand what you may be up against.

What is Malware?
Malware is the generic term used to describe a malicious program. If you don’t like a piece of software or you think it is malicious, it is malware, short for “malicious software.” The most common way to get malware is by installing a piece of software that asks if you would like to install other software while you are installing the first program. Make sure you watch for already check-marked boxes while you are installing software. The most common pieces of malware are the “Toolbars” attached to your Internet browser.

Malware Removal
This software is usually the easiest to get rid of; you can do so usually by going into the control panel and uninstalling the piece of software.

Virus
Viruses are not same as Malware or Spyware. Viruses are unwanted software code that attaches to legitimate programs. Viruses often self-replicate, which means they will duplicate themselves, or attach to all the mp3 or jpg files in your system. The most common places to get a virus are from e-mails or sharing drives or files.

Different Types of Viruses

Standard Viruses
These viruses are just malicious code that attaches itself to a good piece of software or a file and then corrupts it. Most common are the viruses that attach themselves to media files, such as mp3, jpg, avi, mov, and render those files useless, then are spread by sharing files over a network, Internet, or file sharing.

Worms
A worm self-replicates and but doesn’t typically need a file to attach to. What makes a worm virus a worm is that is burrows through your network looking for an opportunity to spread outward to other systems.


Trojans
Just as the name implies, this is named after the horse of Greek mythology. A Trojan is programmed into a piece of software that sounds enticing, like a screen saver or an mp3. Trojan viruses do not often self-replicate, but once you open the file, it starts working to open “back-doors” on your system. For example, a Trojan virus will open up your machine to send out millions of emails (spam), or act as a file server so others can share music from your machine. The only way to recognize this is happening is to have a good virus protection program, realize your machine is running very slow, or monitor your traffic levels of your network.

Spyware
Spyware is just what it sounds like. This is a software program that is out to do one thing, and that is to track your every move. This captures your keystrokes by using a “Keylogger” and then sends the data back to a central computer for processing. What the person at the other end is looking for are your passwords, credit card information, and personal information, among other things. You will not realize this is happening unless you are running proactive software or doing virus/malware scans on a regular basis.

Adware
Adware is the software that bombards you with ads while you are surfing the web. You know you have adware when you can no longer surf the web because you are closing window after window of ads, or your browser gets hijacked and redirected to a website you were not expecting. The above information can be alarming. If you are surfing the web, watch what you are clicking on. Most always, if you hover over the link with your mouse, it will show you what you are about to click on. This is also true for emails. There are so many emails that state that they are your bank and your payment did not go through or that your shipment was cancelled that you may be tempted to click on them; DON’T. If you feel these emails are bogus, they are. Instead of clicking on the link, open your browser and go to your real website manually, or better yet, call your credit card company and see if these are valid. We never click on emails that come from our bank, Paypal, or credit card vendors. This is not to say some are valid, but in most cases you know the email is coming before you open it. As you progress, you will realize the good links from the bad and be able to pick out the bad ones.

Virus Removal
To remove a virus or two, you will need a program such as Avast, Norton, McAfe,e or AVG, among others. Two of these antivirus software packages have a free version. We recommend running your virus scans in safe mode, so the virus doesn’t have time to load. Not all virus removal software is the same. Some software is good at one particular viru,s and others are good at removing a different set of viruses.

Adware Removal or Malware Removal
To remove malware from your machine, we recommend these programs: Ad-aware, Malware Bytes, SuperAntiSpyware, Ccleaner, or HiJackthis. Sometimes you may need to run two or three programs to rid your computer of these unwanted programs.

Virus Removal Tools:
Eset
Malwarebytes