Expert: Carolyn Meinel - 3/10/2009

Question
hi.
i don't know much about computers, so  i was hoping you could help me with this.
i have windows xp and i have defender pro for a security software. i keep getting a pop up that says system security firewall alert, and it it will also come up and say 38 infectiosn found. but when i run my defender pro it doesn't find any. it says, "fraudulant (something...can't remember exactly what it says, but it says it's not a virus, it's fraudulant ...something else) has been found, and treated, but cannot be disinfected. the false security thing that keeps popping up has a shield icon at the top right hand corner of the window that it pops us in and is also at the bottom of my computer screen, on the bottom right hand corner. the shield is black and yellow. we know it is fraudulant, and that it is not installed (because we checked and it is not installed). but how can i get rid of this thing altogether?  thank you, laura :)

Answer
Here's what will almost certainly work.

1) Download either Kapersky Internet Security, which offers a free 30 day trial at http://kapersky.com or F-Secure's Complete Internet security suite, which offers a free thirty day trial: https://store.f-secure.com/cgi-bin/dlreg/ml=EN?ID=FSISTB&desid=TRIAL

2) Disconnect from the Internet.

3) Uninstall your current antivirus. This is absolutely essential because otherwise it and F-Secure or Kapersky will fight each other and might crash your computer. It isn't good enough to just turn off your old antivirus because it probably has been crippled by your virus infection.

4) Install your Internet Security product. Download any updates available.

5) Run a complete scan of your computer. Follow any instructions it might give you.

6) Reboot.

If this works, you can either keep your new Internet Security product or uninstall it and reinstall your old antivirus from either a download of the latest version from their website (if that's how they sell it) or from the disk it was on when you bought it. Be sure to get all the latest updates right away. Usually antivirus companies are pretty good about updating their programs whenever some new attack becomes able to evade or cripple their product.

If you weren't running an antivirus program that includes antispyware protection and a firewall, then I recommend that you not reinstall your old program. Nowadays we need total protection, and this includes antispyware and a firewall.

7) To prevent future infections, don't use Internet Explorer, as it is susceptible to introducing viruses, adware and spyware into your computer. Instead you could use Firefox, free from Mozilla.org . Instead of using Outlook for email, you could use Thunderbird, free from Mozilla.org, or Eudora, free from Eudora.com .