Computer virus repair?

[canfit 130]

Hi all. This may be a bit off topic but wasn't sure where to ask it, sorry if it isn't relevant. Recently my computer seems to have gotten a very nasty computer virus. I was wondering, is it okay to bring my computer to a store to get fixed? There is porn on my computer and I was wondering if that is okay or do they not deal with it if there is porn on it? Very possibly a stupid question, I know. I am very uneducated when it comes to computers. By the way, there is nothing illegal or anything like that. Just some hardcore porn. Any help would be super appreciated. Thanks a whole bunch.

[roamingguy 300291]

I would only add one thing to what BRM said, and I'm no expert. But any emails between you and a SP should be deleted if you take the computer into a shop or have someone look at it. Not that I'm a prude, and definitely the ladies aren't prudes, but those are private communications between a lady and her client, there may be phone numbers given out which aren't public etc. Basically it boils down to discretion. She entrusted you with the information contained in the emails, up to you to keep that trust. You wouldn't like it if emails you send a lady were seen by third parties.

A morning rambling

RG

[CristyCurves 169032]

I wondered the same thing, as I have gotten a virus a couple of times. They don't care what is on your computer as a matter of fact one fellow told me most of the computers he looks at have some type of porn or adult material so don't despair if you want to take your computer in to a known store, I took mine to staples and was very happy and treated with respect and a smile.

[Boomer 33202]

I go along with Christy, unless you have some obvious child porn sitting there, you should be OK. If you're going to a busy shop they don't have the time or inclination to start going through your emails or exploring your computer.

 

It may be a bit drastic but if you do have to reinstall the operating system which will give you a pristine system, then take a few steps to forestall future problems. Number one get a good virus detector, and many like Norton have got the tools to maintain your computer without you having to be an expert. Back it up periodically and generate a restoration disc so that if a disaster occurs in the future, you'll have the tools to restore it yourself

[canfit 130]

Thank you so much for the responses everyone. No there is nothing illegal on it (that I am aware of). I was thinking of taking it to a smaller but reputable place. However you mentioned Stapes. How much was it for virus cleanup and what was the wait time to get it back? Also just wondering what the worker(s) would get concerned about in terms of content? Not sure what is seen as illegal. There is no child porn (absolutely disgusting) or animal stuff (I don't get that). Thank alot for the help everyone. Take care.

[Tallguy007 4172]

I'm lucky to have the technical skills to remove a virus (and to generally avoid them)?

 

I do, however, like the suggestion to use an external hard drive. This makes for the most reliable way to avoid other members of the household from accidentally stumbling on my own stash...

[billybob 20128]

I don't want to hijack the thread, or imply anything. True story, a guy's wife (the guy being a well known radio personality) took his computer in for repairs, the people repairing his computer got to poking around and found child pornography on his computer. He ended up spending some time in jail, forget what the actual sentence was, when he got out he had to leave the area of course.

[Tallguy007 4172]

First thing I would recommend to someone suspecting they have a virus is to get a scanner. Using a bootable CD would be safer, but as that's not necessarily easy to find and do for a beginner, I would recommend installing Microsoft Security Essentials (google it, you shouldn't be trusting links to anti-viral software from a forum).

 

MSE is free to dowload, keeps itself updated, and compares well with the paid options.

[backrubman 64800]

I would only add one thing to what BRM said, and I'm no expert. But any emails between you and a SP should be deleted if you take the computer into a shop or have someone look at it. ...

 

Good catch RG, yes I forgot about that one. I so don't use Outlook or any other kind of email that stores the messages on your computer anymore I over looked that one... but I'm sure lots of folks do still use an actual email program (like outlook or outlook express or the new MSN mail that replaced outlook express or whatever).

 

I guess a new twist (in the last couple of years), even though I might use Gmail and many people still use Hotmail, the smart phone clients for these (BB, Android and iPhone) do keep the messages on the phone, don't they? So I imagine this caution applies equally to upgrading your phone or having it repaired as well.

 

And then there is that deleting the message only moves it to the trash or deleted items folder, so you have to go in there and delete it again before it is really gone and then there is still the fact that things aren't really gone when you'd like them to be.

[rep_pot 661]

If you can still hit the internet, go to

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/us/

This is a free scan of your pc. Once it it clean, create a restore point on the PC. If you get infected again, revert to that restore point. Actually anytime you load a new hardware or software, create a restore point first. If you have any issues with the new h/w or s/w, just revert back to the restore point.

[billybob 20128]

I would only add one thing to what BRM said, and I'm no expert. But any emails between you and a SP should be deleted if you take the computer into a shop or have someone look at it.

 

I don't know of any email programs that are not password protected but there may be some. As long as you make sure you don't automatically log in to your email program when it is opened I think you would be ok.

 

If you're worried about the place hacking in to your personal email don't take your computer there.

[Tallguy007 4172]

To add to the virus prevention thing, I'd like to also make people aware of a number of scams out there where you visit a web site and get a popup yelping you your computer is infected. Some of these look very genuine. Never click on these links. If you want to be safe, shut down your browser and run a virus scan.

 

Also be aware of some fake anti-virus companies out there. I recommend sticking with the old and trusted players: Microsoft, Panda Security, Symantec, McAfee. Panda also has some free tools for those who have trust issues with Microsoft.

[drlove 37202]

Also, if you have nothing valuable stored on your computer and don't mind starting from scratch, you can always insert your recovery disk and reformat. This should eliminate any viruses you may have.

[Guest f***nds4f**]

Virus removal is my professional job. It is not a problem for a computer with adult material except child porn. Sure we will call police if we find it. Ottawa has this kind of cases and the offender(s) was in the jail.

[Tallguy007 4172]

My professional days of fixing computers is way behind me. back then there was no question about keeping quiet about it (I did't know child porn even existed), but whether we should make a copy. ;-)

 

We never did make a copy. Didn't feel right.

 

f4f: What's your opinion on the antivirus software out there? Too late to install if already infected?

[Guest f***nds4f**]

For some virus, it is too late to install software to remove it. It has to be removed by manual methods. eg. using Microsoft sys internals. You need to know what you are doing.

http://www.av-comparatives.org/comparativesreviews/dynamic-tests check this site to see which one is the best.

[canfit 130]

I think my biggest concern in bringing it to get fixed is if somehow something illegal made it's way onto my computer from surfing porn. Can this happen at all? I know I have never gone to an illegal site but could stuff have gotten on my computer other ways? I assume yes and I think this is the reason for my apprehension however as I mentioned before I know nothing about computers.

 

Thanks

[backrubman 64800]

I think my biggest concern in bringing it to get fixed is if somehow something illegal made it's way onto my computer from surfing porn. Can this happen at all? I know I have never gone to an illegal site but could stuff have gotten on my computer other ways? I assume yes and I think this is the reason for my apprehension however as I mentioned before I know nothing about computers. Thanks

 

Well I'm no expert in porn but the question in and of itself indicates that you did not make this collection picture by picture but probably grabbed some "collections" of numerous (hundreds or even thousands) of images compiled by other collectors so certainly if you did this and I assume from your question you did then I suppose something "could" have made it in there (much like the virus, that wasn't intentional). The simple possession of child pornography is a crime and I know you would immediately delete it if you came across it.

 

That said, I really don't think the repair shop has any interest or time to look though however many hundreds or thousands of images you may have collected as others have indicated.

 

It would be really nice if someone in your area (of good reputation here) and a little more computer knowledge would step up to the plate and give you a hand coping all this stuff off to an external disk drive and maybe even save you a trip to the repair shop. I would even offer but my schedule doesn't put me back in the Ottawa area for certain until spring now.

 

I did read about a conviction which made me angry because the guy had hundreds of thousands of images and only 6 were illegal. I think he was able to get a good plea bargain but still ended up with a criminal record but from that ratio is appears to me it wasn't intentional and I viewed it malicious prosecution where the resources would have been better spent on a real pedophile.

[canfit 130]

Another question. Whenever I finish browsing I delete everything I can; cookies, history, passwords. Does that help at all or no?

 

Thanks

[billybob 20128]

I don't mean any disrespect canfit but I think you're worrying way too much about this. As previously stated unless you're into child porn or some other illegal venture there's basically nothing to worry about.

 

If someone finds porn on your computer they might go rub one out in the bathroom but other than that I'm sure you don't have anything on your computer they haven't seen before.

 

I know you're worried about what is on your computer that you don't know about but like you said, clear your cache and history and if you have any folders store them on a memory stick and delete the folders.

 

Again, no disrespect intended.

[canfit 130]

No disrespect taekn at all. I am the one who got myself into this by not knowing computers and I may seem a bit paranoid. Just worried that's all. There is nothing I know of on my computer that is bad (except for maybe some legal teen stuff). I really appreciate everyones help on this. Just gonna bite the bullet and bring it it. I was given the advice to bring it in to a smaller store? What would be better, smaller or bigger? With the type of virus on it I would have to explain that there is a good bit of porn on it. Would that be better at a small or big store?

 

Thanks

[ottanon 2930]

No. Once your infected your infected. Dont use Norton Bell or Rogers protection, they dont work.. You need to protect yourself from Malware and Viruses together. Most of the problems are with Malware.

[rosseyerie 161]

I find when I'm helping out friends with their PC problems.... unless the os is totally corrupted... I take their hard drive, put it in an external enclosure, plug it into my machine, and run malware bytes, spyware s&d and scan for viruses using avg free.

 

For a free solution, I find that this works very well.