What should I do if I get a computer virus?
My antivirus just popped up saying it detected a trojan. I'm freaking out. What do I do first? Should I disconnect from the internet? Is my personal information at risk? I do online banking — should I change my passwords? Can a virus steal my credit card numbers? How did I get infected in the first place?
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I'd check Device Manager for any yellow exclamation marks. That's Windows telling you a driver is missing or broken. Right-click My Computer, Properties, Hardware tab, Device Manager. Fix anything with a yellow mark and a lot of weird problems clear up.
3 Answers
I'd check Device Manager for any yellow exclamation marks. That's Windows telling you a driver is missing or broken. Right-click My Computer, Properties, Hardware tab, Device Manager. Fix anything with a yellow mark and a lot of weird problems clear up.
Definitely back up your important files before trying any fixes. I learned this the hard way when I lost 3 years of photos trying to fix a simple problem. Get an external hard drive or burn DVDs of your important stuff first.
Honestly at some point a clean reinstall of Windows fixes more than any amount of tinkering. XP gets crufty after a couple years. Back up your files, find your product key, and do a fresh install. It'll feel like a brand new machine.
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