Well, Happy New Year, everyone! I was determined to get back to L.A. and get right back to work…and then I caught a computer virus. Yikes, these things are nasty! (The blog and the website, of course, are perfectly fine, as they’re on a server somewhere out there). But my home computer got hit hard last night, with one of those bogus spyware viruses that cause all those scary pop up windows to take over your computer. I’m not normally in favor of capital punishment, but the people who make these viruses definitely make me re-think it (spammers too).
I used a good free program called MalwareBytes that was able to eliminate the worst of the virus and allow me to use the computer again, but there are still mystery files that show up every time I run a scan. I was using Bitdefender but it obviously didn’t catch this thing. I’m really not even sure how I got it. I was checking out a photographer’s work on the Deviant Art site, and there may have been something on there, but I can’t say for sure. Well, it looks like I’ll be re-installing Windows XP tonight or tomorrow. And I’ll probably go with a new antivirus software, probably Nod32, and will probably pay for the “pro” version of MalwareBytes. I hate to waste a day or two with this kind of stuff, but what’s one to do?
Be careful out there. It’s a scary world.
I’m on an IMac with MAC OS 10.5 Leopard. I bought the Microsoft Office 2008 for MAC package to go with the system and have never had a problem. But this may not be an option for you, I don’t know. I have enough stuff available to me in the MAC environment to keep me busy but you may need software that is not yet ported over to the MAC world.
Good Luck!
Thanks, Dim,
Yes, I’ve definitely thought of switching to a Mac, just for the much lower security risks. But I do like the cost of PCs and being able to just walk into Best Buy and get whatever you need. And I tend to follow the technical lead of a good friend who’s a wizard on these things.
I’m currently installing programs and stuff, so it looks like the clean install is going painlessly enough for a change.
Idle curiosity, was it “Windows Police Pro” that you caught?
Hi Ase – It was “Antivirus Live” that I caught – it’s really nasty.
I highly recommend the anti-virus and anti-spyware software from Computer Associates. My local tech suggested it the last time I had a major virus problem and since I installed it (about two years ago) I haven’t had a virus problem. It regularly catches all kinds of things
I’ve gotten that crap on Deviantart too. And, like you, I used Malwarebytes to clear it up. I also have Spybot and AVG. What one misses, the other, hopefully will pick up.