Malware is a common problem. There are two different types currently affecting people’s computers. The most common would be the adware infection. Adware causes browsers to show unsolicited ads. The next would be ransomware. Ransomware claims that the user has done something illegal and requires a payment for oversight. Both malware types have a single goal in common, collecting money. Adware promotes advertising that is paid per click and ransomware promotes organized crime. There are different methods of injecting the malware such as Flash and Java exploits, EXE, PDF, and JPG files. The user usually does not know how they were infected, but definitely knows something is wrong. Adware uses potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) to infect the computer. It is usually quite simple to remove, but sometimes removal tools do not detect it and it can be laborious to remove. Ransomware uses Trojan viruses and rootkits to infect the computer and is usually very difficult to remove. In the past having a good antivirus on the computer would prevent infections, but now that is not a guarantee. Although most of the computers we work on have no antivirus or an expired antivirus, it is possible to become infected with a good antivirus software. The best policy is to have a good antivirus and to use caution while using the internet. Avoid untrusted online games, clicking on advertising, opening emails with attachments or hyperlinks that are suspicious, downloading pirated media, visiting questionable sites, and downloading optimization or security software.
Another issue that is related to the malware infection is phone fraud. A user will have a computer that is infected with malware and/or call a fraudulent phone number in an advertisement. The user may also receive an unsolicited phone call. The user will believe they are dealing with a reputable entity, but will have suspicions. One should be extremely cautious. The phone scammers are professional. If given the chance, they will take every penny of money they can from the victim. They will collect the user’s credit card. They will offer fake money order refunds. They will make withdrawals from the victim’s checking account. The scammer will attempt to allow the user to have access to their machine. Once in the machine, they will go to the Event Logs and show the customer errors claiming that the computer has problems and needs maintenance. At that point, they will want some unreasonable amount of money for a service or product. They will collect payment or if they cannot collect payment and are allowed to continue their online session, they will proceed to damage the computer and extort the victim. Usually the victim, will not realize that they are being scammed. They will be under the impression they are dealing with a legitimate business that has unfair pricing and poor customer service. One should never deal with these fraudulent entities. If allowed the scammer will take as much money from the victim as possible and or damage the computer to a point that it is unrepairable. The best solution is to hang up the phone. Do not allow these criminals access to your computer with your bank records, tax returns, and stored passwords. If you have allowed them on your computer disconnect the online session immediately, unplug the computer from the wall, and contact Nick’s Computer Services for a malware removal and/or repair.
Nick’s Computer Services has an extensive background with malware removal. We have a reasonable in-shop flat rate removal fee. Onsite malware removal is charged on an hourly basis. If the customer has an extensive infection, the computer will have to be taken to our shop. Hourly rates and trip charges still apply to computers collected onsite; however, time while waiting for scans to complete in the shop is not counted as time on the machine. We are able to resolve most malware issues and we include a tuneup with a malware removal. We have our customer’s test their machine before they make payment and satisfaction is guaranteed or there is no charge.