Data Recovery after Virus or Spyware Attack

Virus Removal services

Do you have a virus? Computer viruses are now a daily occurence, and anti-virus software is now a REQUIRED part of a computer system. Without one, you are likely to get infected. If you are infected and can’t solve the problem, we can help! We have experience dealing with all viruses, removing them, and restoring your system to working order.

Here is a list of different types of viruses:

  • Boot Sector – A Boot Sector Virus infects the system area of a floppy or hard drive, or the part that is accessed when your computer is first turned on. Infection usually occurs when booting from an infected disk.
  • File Infector Viruses – Most of these viruses reside in the memory of a computer and infect programs’ .exe and .com files.
  • Master Boot Record(MBR) Viruses Similar to a Boot Sector viruses, these viruses infect the Master Boot Record and prevent your PC from booting.
  • Multi-partite viruses – These viruses infect both the boot record and program files.
  • Macro viruses – Macro Viruses are prevalent in corporate environments where office applications are used, usually Microsoft Office(Word and Excel). They use a program’s code to infect data files.
  • Trojan Horse Viruses – These viruses do not replicate themselves. Instead, they often pose as a harmless file that is downloaded from the web or from an e-mail attachment. These programs can result in the theft or destruction of data files. This type of virus is commonly picked up from peer to peer file sharing programs.
  • Worms Viruses – Worms replicate themselves without using a host file and can spread very quickly across the internet by releasing documents it has infected.
  • Spyware Removal Services

Let’s face it, spyware or adware is a nuisance. Not only that, it is proliferating now like never before.
Spyware is software that is usually secretly installed on your system without permission. It tracks your sytem usage activity and reports it online to another party. Usually the information collected is not private information, but information such as your Web viewing habits and so forth. Still, you did not authorize this activity, and you don’t want spyware!

Spyware can also “hijack” your system, causing annoying and unwanted popup messages even when you never open your browser. It can also change your default home page and add links to your favorites and desktop.

There are numerous spyware removal utilities such as As-Aware and Spybot, and while these are reasonably effective tools at removing spyware they don’t always work. Contact us to clean your system of all traces of spyware!

Here is a quick FAQ on spyware:

Spyware is Internet jargon for Advertising Supported software (Adware). It is a way for shareware authors to make money from a product, other than by selling it to the users. There are several large media companies that offer them to place banner ads in their products in exchange for a portion of the revenue from banner sales. This way, you don’t have to pay for the software and the developers are still getting paid. If you find the banners annoying, there is usually an option to remove them, by paying the regular licensing fee.

Why is it called “Spyware” ?
While this may be a great concept, the downside is that the advertising companies also install additional tracking software on your system, which is continuously “calling home”, using your Internet connection and reports statistical data to the “mothership”. While according to the privacy policies of the companies, there will be no sensitive or identifying data collected from your system and you shall remain anonymous, it still remains the fact, that you have a “live” server sitting on your PC that is sending information about you and your surfing habits to a remote location…..

Are all Adware products “Spyware”?
No, but the majority are. There are also products that do display advertising but do not install any tracking mechanism on your system. These products are not indexed in our database.

Is Spyware illegal?
Even though the name may indicate so, Spyware is not an illegal type of software in any way. However there are certain issues that a privacy oriented user may object to and therefore prefer not to use the product. This usually involves the tracking and sending of data and statistics via a server installed on the user’s PC and the use of your Internet connection in the background.

What’s the hype about?
While legitimate adware companies will disclose the nature of data that is collected and transmitted in their privacy statement (linked from our database), there is almost no way for the user to actually control what data is being sent. The fact is that the technology is in theory capable of sending much more than just banner statistics – and this is why many people feel uncomfortable with the idea.

On the other hand…
Millions of people are using advertising supported “spyware” products and could not care less about the privacy hype…, in fact some “Spyware” programs are among the most popular downloads on the Internet.

Real spyware…
There are also many PC surveillance tools that allow a user to monitor all kinds of activity on a computer, ranging from keystroke capture, snapshots, email logging, chat logging and just about everything else. These tools are often designed for parents, businesses and similar environments, but can be easily abused if they are installed on your computer without your knowledge.

These tools are perfectly legal in most places, but, just like an ordinary tape recorder, if they are abused, they can seriously violate your privacy.

Please call us if you need help removing viruses or spyware. 720.222.0110 ext 1