The PC Doctor's Fix-it-Yourself Guide- P12: A technical director for a UK-based computer company who teaches such courses as Caring for Your PC has developed prescriptions for treating sick PCs. Arguing the benefits of fixing it yourself rather than relying on experts, his mission is to empower users with trouble- shooting and safe repair skills. | CHAPTER 4 Safe Computing 89 This is actually an executable file masquerading as a text file. This is a common trick used to disguise harmful files as innocent ones. Here are the most common types of files used to wreak havoc on a PC system .bat .exe reg .cmd .js .vbs .com .pif .wsh .doc If the Worst Does Happen. You re using your computer and all of a sudden a prompt appears telling you that a virus has been detected or that a hacker has been repelled What do you do First and foremost don 7 panic If you get a message telling you that a virus has been caught or a hacker blocked the software you ve installed is doing its job of keeping out the nasties. Follow the prompts and deal with the problem. Once the problem is cleared up try to find out where the virus or hacker came from so that you can learn from the experience and perhaps tighten your defenses. But what can you do if something like a virus slips through the net Here are a few signs that you might have a virus on your system The system slows down. You see weird messages popping up greetings insults etc. The operating system or applications display unusual error messages. You experience frequent data loss. You notice odd graphic effects on the screen. You experience frequent program crashes. NOTE It s a fact of life that programs crash at times but if applications begin to crash excessively you should become suspicious. The operating system or other applications refuse to start. 90 The PC Doctor s Fix-It-Yourself Guide The only reliable indication that you have a virus is when you are informed by an antivirus scanner and you should see if you can detect it using the program on your system. Download the latest virus database for the application and scan the system again. Consult your antivirus help program for information on how to do this. If it still doesn t detect it try another antivirus scanner if possible. There are several free antivirus tools available on the Internet that you could try. So if this .
