Yep, you’ve been hijacked or infected.  You have a sick computer. How did it happen? “I haven’t done anything!” is the common cry I hear.  Well, these programs are tricky.  A little box shows up on your internet browser that says you have many problems in your registry or on your computer.  “Click here” the box says “and I’ll fix it.”  But instead of fixing something that wasn’t sick, as soon as you click that little box, wham, you’re infected.  That’s one way they trap you, by scaring you about your computer.

How about that free piece of software that is going to let you download free music or videos?  Those kinds of offers are just junk waiting to come on your computer.  First they take you to their site and when you click the button to download that “free” program, zap – it downloads a program you weren’t even aware of!  Yep, you’re infected.

But what kind of infection do I have?  Usually you have a combination of problems, namely spyware, malware, adware or a virus. So I am asked, “What are those nasty things and what do they do?”

Spyware is just what it says, a spy.  It collects and gathers data secretly about you and your browsing habits and then sends it to advertisers and other companies without your knowledge. These nasty programs hide on your computer, keeping track of how many times you visit certain websites and they usually track what kinds of websites you visit. This information is valuable to many companies and is a real threat to your computer and sometimes even your identity.

Adware is a software application that adventives.  Banners, box ads, annoying pop-ups telling you where and what to by usually “popup” or display while a program is running.  Adware is often “woven”  into free applications as a way for developers to cover the cost of the development or make new money.  Adware is annoying because it downloads secretly or by a misleading statement or dialogue box or other ways of installation that you are completely unaware of.     Now what?  There are a few things you can do to prevent this in the first place.  DO NOT AGREE TO DOWNLOAD ANY PROGRAM YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH!

The post “My Computer is so Slow” gives some tools to help you clean up an infected computer.

Windows 10

There are two free programs you can install on your computer and four simple scans you can run on your computer weekly or monthly to make your computer run better.  These programs and simple scans are not hard to do.

The two free programs are:

• Microsoft Defender Microsoft Defender comes preloaded and will protect your computer.  I(f you have an earlier version of windows, try download Microsoft Security Essentials.)
• Malwarebytes is a free program that you can run to identify and delete spyware and adware.

The scans are as follows:

• Scan Disk — This scans for bad sectors and problems with your computer hardware taken from the answers page at Microsoft
  • Press Windows key + E on your keyboard to open File Explorer.
  • In the File Explorer window, click on This PC in the left navigation pane.
  • A list of drives is displayed on the right side of the window. Right-click on the drive you want to run Scandisk on and select Properties.
  • In the Properties window, click on the Tools tab.
  • Click the Check button in the Error Checking section.
  • The computer needs to restart to run Scandisk without any interruptions.
• Defrag — This scans and moves folders and files together for quicker access. Click here for instructions.
• Online Safety Scan — This is a free online scan from Microsoft that will help remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus software.

• The Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool —  an anti-malware utility that checks your computer for malicious software and helps remove malware and any other infections found.

These 4 simple scans can keep your computer running faster and better and protect you from unwanted  intrusions on your computer:

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