There is an increasing number of threats from infected web sites that show a pop up asking you to install a fake ‘Flash player’, ‘Video player’, or ‘Java update’ containing a Trojan downloader with actual malware viruses. My advice: “never click on a download offer, unless you went looking for it.”  That includes sites that you may trust, like Facebook.  If you get a pop up asking you to update, close the window and go to the actual website to download the (allegedly) out of date software.

I think my computer might be infected
If your computer is infected, turn it off and seek professional service. Don’t try to fix it your self because many viruses try to hide and also multiply. Virus removal is not an easy task. Also don’t put it off and keep using it, a compromised computer puts you and others online at risk.  My virus removal service is available, as well as my ProActive Care service that allows for ongoing monitoring and protection.

February Special
Starting today and lasting throughout February, sign up for ProActive Care - Antivirus service and get any viruses removed for free.

When it comes to your browser, toolbars are almost always a bad idea. Sometimes you just open your web browser for the day and there they are--and no idea where they came from. They are often snuck in with other software installations, updates, or via a malware/spyware attack. Some toolbars are just annoying and take up room in your browser. Others do that AND facilitate browser hijacks that compromise your whole system’s security. How can you tell if a toolbar is bad? Well, I don’t think ANY toolbars are necessarily good (or even useful)--but if you’re seeing websites and search engines get redirected, that definitely needs to be fixed.
​
The reason it needs to be dealt with is that sometimes this is just the foot in the door to enable even worse malware to cause more problems in your computer later. Also, if it’s forcing you to use a search engine other than Google, you’re not going to get very good search results. In fact, a recent web report by Sophos revealed that Bing (Microsoft’s search engine) has twice as many “poisoned links” in their results as Google. ("Poisoned" links are links that will give your computer malware—i.e., search for one thing and get another!). This is another reason I recommend Google for search instead of Bing.