Virus Removal

Stay safe online.

Is your computer infected with a virus, malware or been hijacked over by ransomware?

At Cosmic Computers we are experts at removing viruses, malware and ransomware and provide advice and protection for the future.

What is a virus?

A computer virus is a type of malicious code or program designed to spread from computer to computer, this could be included in a rogue email, a website popup or a file download from the internet, the effects of a virus are unique to each virus, but typically they will alter the way a computer operates, potentially corrupting and destroying data. 

A virus can also steal your personal data or even take control of your computer.

Fortunately we can erase 99.9% of computer viruses and undo most of the damage caused while protecting you from future infections.

What is malware? 

Malware encompasses all types of malicious software including viruses, but is typically associated with ‘adware’ ‘spyware’ and ‘scareware’.

Scareware is designed to infect your computer and will typically pose as an official notice claiming you have done something illegal or your system is at risk, for example this could be a fullscreen pop up saying you have been downloading illegal files, or that your device is infected and your data is at risk and that you need to pay a set amount money to a random company or call a random number. 

Adware is designed to force adverts upon your device, have you opened a website before and been confronted with multiple ‘spam’ popups, are you getting annoying notifications for something you haven’t signed up to? This is most likely adware.

Ransomware is designed to infect your machine and encrypt your data holding you to ransom until you pay a fee to get your data back.

This is currently the most profitable type of attack thus it is increasing in popularity, however in most cases your data can be saved without having to pay this ‘ransom’.

How do I know if I am infected ?

Most of the time you will know if your device is infected, the signs will be obvious such as warning pop up’s, corrupted data, websites redirecting you to other sites, slow performance ect.

However sometimes virus will hide in the background, this is where they can be quiet dangerous as a simple keylogger (a program designed to copy every keystroke you make) could potentially steal all your private data including online banking details.  

How can I protect myself ?

Due to the nature of computers, hackers will always find new ways to cause disruption, a game of cat and mouse between antivirus programmers and hackers.

However they are quite a few steps you can take to ensure you are as safe as possible while online, this can include advice on what to watch out for, how to spot rogue emails and programs, ensuring your software and antivirus are up to date and that your network firewall is setup correctly to protect you. 

Never call the number or visit the link any unwanted program, website or popup, this can lead to further damage or being conned out of large sums of money.

We include a full malicious software scan in our ‘Clean up‘ service.