It happens to the best of us, tech wizard or your average computer user. We open our search window and suddenly, a new tab appears. On the page, there is an alert in big red letters or a voice yelling that our computer is infected. It tells us we need antivirus software ASAP because our file is at risk. Apparently, it is the FBI looking after our best interests online. Wondering how much free time the FBI have to do this for internet users, we download the recommended software. The ad disappears with a friendly message telling us our computer is now protected, crisis averted.
But, the next time we open our computer there are programmes we do not recognise installed. If we use the internet, a funny search window opens that we do not recognise. Our computer has been taken over and seems to make decisions all by itself. If this sounds familiar, then you have accidentally installed a virus onto your machine. We are going to show you how to get rid of it and prevent it from happening to you again.
Step 1: Halt The Virus
Your first task is to open up the windows task bar. To do this, hold down ctrl, alt and delete in unison. The taskbar will open and you will get a few different tabs. Click on processes. Scroll down the processes and look for any that you do not recognise that are running in the background. If you are using Windows 8, the processes are divided into sections so that they are easier to understand. For earlier software, you will need to be careful not to shut off any processes that are operated by Windows. The process you need to halt will most likely be something such as binkiland.exe. Or, a random line of gibberish. You may find that the process can not be halted and if this is the case, do not panic. Move on to step 2.
Step 2: Delete The Virus
First, you need to delete any programmes that are linked to the virus. Enter your control panel and click programmes, uninstall a programme. Organise the programmes so that the ones that have recently been added are at the top and delete any that you do not recognise. Please note, that some of this will work on a Mac as well, however you may find that the problem can not be fixed in this manner. In which case, you should contact one of the many Mac specialists available online. They will be able to help you out more.
After you have deleted the programmes, enter your App data file, in Users and, Your name. This is a hidden file so you will need to allow your computer to show hidden files. Go through each of the four folders in AppData, deleting files that are named a string of random letters and numbers. After you have completed this step, reboot your computer. The virus will no longer be running but may still be embedded on your computer.
Step 3: Install Antivirus Software
Finally, you need to run a virus check on your computer to get rid of the last remnants of it. We recommend download McAfee and using the free trial. You can delete it again after you are finished or sign up for full protection. After this, download an AdBlock and be wary of downloading any software that you do not recognise.