There's nothing worse than to lose all your hard drive contents to a virus infection you didn't even suspect was coming at you. Attorneys don't have time to wrestle with computers.
Here's some tips to recognize some of the viruses, spyware and other nefarious computer programs that try to get installed on your computer by fooling you into thinking they are security warnings, often requiring some kind of "update" to a program that sounds legitimate.
"Windows has detected a virus" Nope. Microsoft Windows doesn't do that. It can display a warning if your virus software is out of date or not turned on, but it does not scan your computer on its own.
"The Surprise Program" If an anti virus program appears on your desktop and you didn't install it, get worried. Then get rid of it. A security warning that comes from a program you didn't install is a ruse intended to fool you.
"Sounds Right" Sometimes an impressive sounding program name is a tip that the program is not legitimate. Like "Antivirus 2010" or "Spyware Detector" etc. If you don't know what it is, don't trust it.
"Download this Norton Virus Update Now" Real anti virus programs don't prompt you to download anything. They get rid of a virus without having to go get an update to do it. They won't prompt you to get an update in order to remove a specific virus threat.
"The Living Color Message Box" Legit programs don't waste time using flashy, colorful boxes to tell you something. If the message box is fancy, then it's probably fake. It should be a simple, clear and small box. If it's in living color, your computer soon won't be.
