I think I have a virus- would deleting my user account help?

Question

I've been running anti-spyware every day. I think I ran across a bad site and now my computer is running slow and I'm getting pop-ups (from the internet, not from my computer) that are telling me I have a virus.

I do not trust the software these pop-ups offer, but I'm running my own anti-spyware program right now in safe mode.

Would deleting my user account help or does it not matter? I already have saved all my needed files on a usb drive.

Answer 1

Chances are that the virus has entered your USB drive also.

If you could show us what exactly the pop up says, maybe we could help better.

Answer 2

first, don't click on anything that pops up, they're a virus or trojan horse. go to http://www.grisoft.com/ww.download and download avg 8.0 and install it and then do a full scan. it will get rid of everything for free.

Answer 3

OK, the good news is that you are right about the pop ups. They try to sell you a program that does nothing more than download more problems. Now for the bad news. An Anti-Spyware program is not the same as an Anti-Virus (AV). They work on two different problems. So like it was mentioned, you need a good AV. I like AVG Free because it is free and reliable. Go to http://free.grisoft.com and download AVG 8.0. Install it and reboot your computer into safe mode with networking support. To get to safe mode you need to hit the f8 key right after your bios splash disappears. Once you are in safe mode, update AVG and run a scan. It will more than likely find all of your problems, Clean those up and reboot. You should be good to go. One other piece of protection to add to your spyware and AV is a program called ThreatFire. Good ling is it is free and was made to pick up the stuff that is missed by both traditional AVs and ant-spyware programs. Below is a link for it. Good luck and happy surfing.

Answer 4

Deleting the account will not help. go to www.superantispyware.com and download free home user version. Install and do a complete scan. I am sure it will help.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Get avg-free or avast both are free and available at:

www.download.com

Answer 6

changing your user account is of no value

update your antivirus and run a scan to see if it will kill it off

You can use the Trend Micro (www.trendmicro.com) on line scan under their "House Call" section to get another company to scan and perhaps it will find it if your current virus protection does not find the bug.