What do I do if I think my computer has a virus?

There are many schools of thought on what to do if you computer gets a virus, here are the steps that I suggest you follow.

1) Stop all network access.  This means, disconnect form any network connection, including the internet.   This means disconnect any network cables, wireless, or other network connections.   This ensures that if there are any viruses that are dependent on network connections, their capabilities are restricted.   Furthermore you then prevent propagation to other networked computers. 

2) Document what you saw that made you suspect that you have a virus.   This includes the way the computer operated, any screen warnings, pop ups, or any antivirius warnings.   The better the detail, the more effective the response to the virus based on researching the root cause 

3) Shut your computer down.   Depending on the type of virus, the longer you leave your computer on, the more severe the damage. Shut down as soon as possible.

4) Verify your back up, have your system restore disks, and software installation disks.   Again depending on the type and severity of the virus, the system might not be able to be recovered without formatting and reinstalling the operating system.   If you do not have back ups, system restore disks, or software installation disks, a different strategy, more costly,  might have to be used in order to recover your system and its files. 

5) Attempt a virus removal on your own, or contact Collaboration Lab for virus removal.   We offer a free 15 min. estimate, so if you are hesitant about cost we can give you not to exceed estimate before starting. 

One other point, it is a good idea to change your passwords that were used on that computer.   Again, dependent on the type of virus on the computer there is a possibility that you passwords have been compromised.  Better safe than sorry. 

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or contact me. 

Another Phishing Scam

So the other day a family member contacted me about a strange email, here is the start of it, 

It looks pretty offical, the problem is that this family memeber lives in Canada.  USAA is US based and works exculsively with US clients.   Here is where the phishing is, 

That is correct, the website redirects you to a non USAA Server that then captures your log in information and contact details.  Be aware, if something does not look right, it probably is a scam of some sort.  Here is a link to more information on this one.

New Email Scam Targets USAA Members

If you do receive one of these emails, or another email that you think is a scam, please report it via this site.

Report Phishing Sites

Why I suggest not using Yahoo email

A lot of my clients use Yahoo email, but now is the time for you to change.

Last year there was a large security breach at Yahoo email,  details here.

Unfortunately things have gotten worse.

In the last 3 months it has become clear that there is a major exploit in Yahoo emails.   The flaw with Yahoo's coding allowed the email and password on a Yahoo email account to be compromised, see the report from TNW.  

The flaw appears to be fixed, but at what cost? I receive about one hacked email a week from different Yahoo users, up from once a month end of last year.

My suggestion is to move from Yahoo email to another provider, such as gmail or Outlook.com.  With that being said, here is a great tutorial from How To Geek on switching you webmail provider.

One other option is to start to reduce your chances at getting spammed by taking some proactive action to ensure you are less vulnerable.   Allspammedup.com  has another great listing of what not to do, in short, 

1. Stop giving out your email address on social networks

2. Stop listing your email address on your personal or company website

3. Stop replying to spam emails

4. Stop using your good email address to register online

5. Being an educated user

You can find the whole list here.

A quick tip on rouge software

In the past month I have received several calls about a pop up security message, similar to these, 

DO NOT CLICK ON THESE POP UP WARNINGS.  

If you receive a message in a popup dialog box that resembles this warning, press ALT + F4 on your keyboard to close the dialog box. Do not click anything inside the dialog box, and do not click on any subsequent dialogue boxes that may pop up.  If a ongoing warning keeps appearing when you try to close the dialog box, it’s a good indication that the message is malicious.

If you see this message, do not purchase the software it promotes, do not install any program it suggests.

One tool that can provide you an oppurtunity to remove the software is Microsoft Security Scanner.  It is an excellent tool and works in the majority of infections.  If for whatever reason this program does not work, feel to contact me and we can get your system recovered.

Recycling or selling a old device, make sure that your information is off it

With the ever increasing pace of technological advancement, the question of what to do with old devices is brought up.  Many clients I work with are not aware of the risks of selling or recycling an old device without being 100% sure all personal information is off it.  Cell and smart phones, tablets, laptops, and computers all carry personal information of one sort or another, even deleting this information may not make it inaccessible.   Check out the story below, 

Best case scenario a TV station does a news report on the computer that they purchased from you, worst case might be this, 

Collaboration Lab provides several solutions to address removal and / or destruction of personal information off of your electronic device.  Don't risk the chance of your personal information being used, distributed, and exploited, contact us today.