Scam Alert: If you get a virus pop-up, shut off your computer | Scam and Consumer Alerts | Idaho Statesman
If phone calls to the Better Business Bureau are any indication, this is the week for the scareware virus to be making the rounds.
Callers tell us they’ve been visiting trusted websites when, all of a sudden, a pop-up appears on the screen with a warning that the computer has been infected by a virus. The pop-up is disguised to look like a Microsoft Windows message — urging the user to click a button to download anti-virus software.
STOP!
I called Kent Haneke, office manager at Meridian Computer Center, for advice on what to do when the pop-up pops up. Haneke said turning off the computer quickly is the first step. He had just started working on two computers infected with the virus. Computer A had been allowed to run for a while after being infected. The virus had done what viruses do: spread. He anticipated it taking multiple hours to get the computer clean. Computer B’s owner had shut the system down immediately upon seeing the pop-up. Haneke anticipated it taking about 90-minutes to clean the computer. Lesson learned: shutting down the computer is crucial. [...]
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Dale Dixon is president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau, a not-for-profit organization serving Southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon. Reach him at 342-4649 or ddixon@boise.bbb.org.