Issue 47.14
A significant part of the work I do is fixing computers that have become extremely slow or have been incapacitated by issues such as not being able to get on the internet or having pop-up screens that won’t go away and even indicate your computer has been shut down by some government agency because you didn’t or did something they want you to pay a fine for (called ransom-ware). If you notice that your home-page has changed without your consent or there are new toolbars in your browser, you have probably been infected.
Most people ask me, “How did this get on my computer?” and it is often very difficult to answer because these programs don’t generally leave a trail. In most cases, however, they come from one basic mistake people make – believing a pop up or ad that tells them to accept an offer to fix, speed up or improve their computer, often for free. Many of these programs also produce bogus charts, graphs or statistics that show your computer is infected with hundreds of viruses or mal-ware (malicious software) programs and indicate that you “must” solve the problem with “their” solution. They are often very convincing but almost always untrue.
Recently, I am seeing more and more ads on places like facebook and major news sources that promote these scamware links. A number of them seem to be related and the names are similar. PC Fix Speed, Speed Fix Tool and others like them. The scammers make big money from these and can afford to advertise. They even post fake reviews extolling how these programs saved them from buying a new computer because all their old computer needed was this great program.
The way they make money is to make your computer inoperable or so slow you feel like throwing it away, then charging you to “fix” what they ruined. The next problem is that, if you pay them, they disappear and you have no recourse because they are based in Pakistan, India or Malaysia and now your computer really is unusable because they didn’t fix the problem they caused.
There are legitimate programs that can remove malware, viruses and even clear up some registry errors and problems, but they are generally not free and the only good ones I have seen are from reliable companies like Norton, AVG and other well-known anti-virus companies. Even after using these programs however, people often still need a good tech to remove “junk” programs and repair the damage the infections have caused. It is as much an art (knowing what to get rid of) as it is a science.
The rules of thumb bear repeating and remembering. If you didn’t ask for it – you don’t want it. When in doubt – don’t do it. If you click on the ‘x’ and it doesn’t go away, it is almost always a virus or malware. A $40-$80 bill from a tech is a lot cheaper than replacing your computer, your data and your programs – and always back up anything on your computer that is important to you.
Shaun McCausland has worked in the computer industry for over 32 years, 25 years of it locally with Bits ‘N’ Bytes and Musicomp and currently does in-home and on-site computer consultation, service, training and repair. If you have questions you can reach him at 435-668-7118 or shaun@musicomp.net.