First of all, go get a drink of water and calm down. If you’re too excited you won’t know what to do when your computer gets a computer virus. Or if you’d rather go get yourself some chocolate do that. I know that always calms me down.
Steps to take if your computer has a virus
Then if you’re connected to a wireless router, disconnect your computer. This will keep your other computers from getting infected. This is like when one of your children gets sick and you confine them to their room.
Back-up your data. This is important enough to say it again. Back up your data. Maybe I should tell you again. Back up your data!
You will have to connect again; however, the best way to do that is to use a wired connection. There are many free virus scans online; you could download one if you need to. (Of course, being the responsible computer owner you are, you’ve not let your computer virus software go out of date, did you? No. I thought not.)
Next, run your virus scan! If you’ve kept your software updated (and you did, right?) then your virus scan should be able to pick it up. If you’ve not kept it up to date, then try to download a more current version of your anti-virus software. You may have to wait a bit for it to finish, but if you catch it early that will be all the better. Delete those bad boys! Get them off of there!
The next thing to do is to check your files. Some may not be able to be recovered. So make sure your computer is running the way it should. It can be difficult to know whether or not your computer has a virus, much less if you’ve gotten rid of the virus. My OCD brain makes me do a second scan. If you need to too, that’s okay.
Then, if there is still a problem, you may need to contact technical support. Most computer companies offer support of some sort when you buy your computer. It will become ineffective after a certain amount of time; however use it if you can. Another option is just to take it in and pay to have someone look at it.
Preventative care
Now if you’ve been through the whole virus thing you know it’s important to keep on top of things. There is a reason for the adage “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Keep your virus software updated! Run scans often, at least weekly. Don’t download things you don’t recognize. Don’t open emails from those you don’t know. Be careful when you are online so that you don’t have this problem again. Computer viruses can be a headache. They’re not always preventable, but you can try your best not to let them happen to you! Make sure you get a computer from Dell because they have great technical support in case you do get a virus.