HELP! I HAVE A FAKE ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM ON MY COMPUTER.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED WITH MALWARE.
There is a program that's popped up on my desktop telling me my computer is infected with lots of affected files. It looks real but I'm not sure. What do I do?
There has been a rash of fake antivirus programs that are actually malware. These so-called "rogues" use intentional false positives to convince users that their systems have been compromised. Then they try to sell you their software, claiming it will remove these threats. In extreme cases the false threats are actually the very trojans that advertise or even directly install the rogue. Do not buy these products!!
At the first sign of being infected, shut down your browser immediately. Better yet, restart your computer immediately. When you reboot, if you still have the malware, download "Malwarebytes", a free spyware removal program from the internet. Follow these instructions:
There has been a rash of fake antivirus programs that are actually malware. These so-called "rogues" use intentional false positives to convince users that their systems have been compromised. Then they try to sell you their software, claiming it will remove these threats. In extreme cases the false threats are actually the very trojans that advertise or even directly install the rogue. Do not buy these products!!
At the first sign of being infected, shut down your browser immediately. Better yet, restart your computer immediately. When you reboot, if you still have the malware, download "Malwarebytes", a free spyware removal program from the internet. Follow these instructions:
- Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to your desktop.
- Double-click the executable file and follow the prompts to install the program.
- Perform a quick scan of your computer.
- Once the scan has finished, click Show Results to view the results.
- Click remove selected. Reboot if prompted.
