Malware, or malicious software, is any annoying, misleading, dishonest, privacy-invading, computer-harming software. Different malware is contracted in different ways, and removing them is different depending on the program as well. Removing malware can be a messy problem to deal with, but it is certainly worse if it is not taken care of as soon as possible.

First of all, if you don’t have an antivirus program and a firewall running, you need to install and enable them now. If you use Windows firewall, you can enable it from your Security Center in the Control Panel. If you antivirus service is expired, you must renew it or at least install a free service. Next, check to be sure your antivirus service has been updated recently. If you open your antivirus program, it will very clearly tell you if everything is running properly, yellow and red indicators will notify you of anything expired or out of date.

Once you have established that you have a current, up-to-date antivirus program and your firewall is on, run a full computer scan with your antivirus program. You may have to go into the advanced options or check through the available buttons and tabs. Once the full computer scan is complete, follow whatever instructions are recommended with any infections it finds.

Now, so far you have checked for viruses and worms, etc. There is another group of “back door” malware—spyware and adware, etc.—that will not be detected by antivirus services (unless your service has additional antispyware or other malware tools). If you are still having problems or believe your problem is specify “back door” malware-related, you should probably download a spyware scanner. Be very careful what you download! Some of these advertised scanners and spyware removers are actually spyware themselves and would only worsen the situation!

When looking for a good spyware remover, look for tools that are recommended on several websites. Find reviews on the products and ratings by reputable computer services websites, like CNet and Downloads.com. If it is recommended on several reputable sources, it is probably safe to download. You probably only need one spyware scanner, because too many programs that will simply bog down your computer and conflict with one another. You may want to try several different programs, though, to find one that is easy to use and works the best for you. Once you have downloaded and completed the spyware scan and removed any infections, you should download a good firewall and antispyware program (or both if they don’t conflict and you want extra protection).

If you still have suspicious problems with your computer or if you have problems with these steps, you may need to take your computer to a technician. The sooner these problems are handled, the less likely this is necessary. If you do take your computer to a technician, if possible, be sure to back up your personal files to CD’s, flash drives, or an external hard drive, in case the technician has to reformat your hard drive, etc.

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!

Perhaps the biggest challenge for dial-up users is downloading updates on Windows computers. When everything takes ten times longer, getting daily updates for your computer or antivirus program can be a cumbersome task.  If you want to surf quickly on the Internet or have a large download to do, the last thing you want to do is share that precious little bandwidth with your updates. However, failing to do these important updates can put your computer at risk because you didn’t download a security patch. It can also cause your computer to run slowly because it is missing an important fix or upgrade for the operating system. So even as frustrating as these may be, these downloads really are helpful and necessary.

Here are a few tips if you are struggling to keep up with antivirus updates and windows updates:

*Schedule your antivirus scans and updates. You can often adjust when your antivirus uses your system resources and bandwidth in effort to avoid doing so when you want to use the Internet. You should find these setting in the advanced options of your antivirus program. Refer to the manual, website, or tech support line if you need more help with this step.

*Don’t turn off updates. As tempting as it might be to just turn off updates so you don’t have to take the time to download them, this will only cause the necessary updates for your computer to pile up until you turn them on again. If you don’t regularly update your computer, catching up on updates could take days on a dial-up connection. In the meantime, your computer is at risk and may not be able to keep up with normal functions and web applications.

*Adjust your Windows updates settings. You can set up your Windows updates so that you will be prompted when an update is available. This way you can ensure that you choose when to download an update, instead of your computer taking over and running installation while you are using the computer for other things.  You will still easily see when a new update is available.

*Take turns. If you know that your antivirus has a new update ready, you can temporarily stop windows updates from downloading. Your antivirus should take first priority, because if your connection is interrupted, the download has to start over. If you download your antivirus updates as soon as you connect to the Internet, you are more likely to get it to download successfully the first time. You can then turn on, or start the download for your Windows updates afterward, because these downloads can be interrupted and will resume the next time you connect to the Internet.

*Update overnight. You can connect to the Internet just before you go to bed, then start your updates. This way, it doesn’t matter how long they take or how much bandwidth they take up because you aren’t sitting there waiting on them.

*Download at another location. If you have a laptop and travel with it occasionally, you could turn off automatic updates and then manually download them every time you are at a place with free wireless or another form of broadband. Then you can quickly update every few weeks in a few minutes instead of trying to do them at home.

If you ever want to check whether your computer has all the updates that are available for your computer, simply go to http://www.update.microsoft.com (make sure you are using Internet Explorer) and your computer will automatically be scanned for any possible updates. You can pick what updates you want by choosing a custom installation, or you can just download everything (which is recommended by Windows).

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Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!