What is a virus, and why is it on your computer?

So your computer has a virus. Don't panic. A computer virus is nothing to be scared of. Most viruses are harmless, and the ones that are damaging to your computer can be removed quickly and easily with a little know-how. What is a computer virus? Well, a computer virus is simply a program written to cause havoc with your computer. During the early years of computers and the internet, viruses were written mainly for fun. Nowadays however viruses are either written to wreck havoc or as a dirty way to make money. For instance, recently a new virus sprung up that targets industrial computers and the equipment it is attached to, specifically two Iranian nuclear power plants. There are other more common viruses that were written to steal money from hardworking people. One such virus is called AntiVirus Soft, which locks down your computer claiming that you have a malicious virus, until you buy their overpriced and thoroughly useless "anti-virus" program.

How do you know you have a virus?

A virus can take many forms, some are right in your face and prevent you from using your computer. Some mess with a certain component or program. But what if you just have a bug? A bug in your computer is not a literal bug, though that is how it got its name. A bug is a problem with a piece of software or your computer that prevents a function or the whole thing from working correctly. A good way to tell if you have a bug is to see if there is an error message. Another way is to run an anti-virus scan and then remove what comes up. If that doesn't work, try googling the errors you are getting to identify the problem. You might not think it, but Google is a very useful tool for any tech savvy person, including professionals and people who pretend to be professionals.

How can you remove said virus?

So now you are probably asking how do you get rid of this virus. Well you could take it to a professional, where you are probably charged by the hour, and will most likely run you upwards of $150 -$200. Or you can opt to do it yourself. Before you make a decision, don't worry. As long as you are careful and read up on what you are going to do before you start fixing your problem, you should be all set. But you shouldn't just read one page on one site and think you know everything. It's good to use multiple sites for information, though make sure every site or guide you find is knowledgeable enough about computers.

What guides should you use?

So now you are probably wondering what guides are the good ones, and what ones are the bad ones. Well, there is one guide in particular which was written by a person who worked in the computer industry for 20+ years. Take a look at his guide, and it will most likely help you out in ways you can't even imagine.