The Investigation

It’s a common belief that women only crib or gossip about inane stuff during lunch hours, however, I would like to bring this urban myth to an end and prove it false.   In fact lunch time is probably the best time for exchange of information; both useful and useless!  As a matter of fact, it was during an everyday lunch conversation that I got to know why my computer was behaving strangely.  My search for a solution to my computer’s virus problem was also fuelled over lunch time talk.

After discussing with my colleagues, I started searching online for a cure to my computer’s problem.  The internet search though a helpful tool, can be little confusing if you are pressed for time.  In a matter of seconds it listed a number of pages where I could find a solution to my computer’s problem.  Being a fairly competent user of the Internet, I followed the site that had the maximum number of hits, and prepared myself for a “do-it-yourself remove of virus from your computer” session.

After absorbing all the information, I set about removing viruses from my computer. The very first thing I did was to disconnect my computer from all networks. According to the site, this is done to ensure that the virus does not spread to other computers since in a work place all computers are connected via the local network.  And I also read that the viruses are pretty smart, sometimes smarter than us!  In an online mode, the virus can interrupt all steps we take to remove/ quarantine it. Moreover, if unchecked these viruses can slip into an attachment and reach another computer via email!  Next, I scanned my computer with the help of a virus scanner so as to detect the virus and infected files.

I was certain that my computer had a virus scanner installed, I knew this because, I would delay or reject the automatic scans the scanner would recommend.  I know, you all might be saying, “And you wonder why you have a computer virus!” Well to be honest after reading this, I think all of you might be right! A word of advice, in case you don’t have a virus scanner installed, you better get one quickly! You can download virus scanners from the internet for free.

So anyway, after this I started my computer and followed the step-by-step instructions given by the antivirus software installed. As instructed, I let the scanner scan the computer till it showed that all files were clean.  In the end, the virus scanner displayed the results of the scan. Just as I had suspected, my computer was infected with a virus and the scanner was able to remove the virus.

Well, not willing to blindly trust what the virus scanner told me, I decided to test the new virus free status of my computer. I opened Internet Explorer typed a site’s address and waited with abated breath! Looks like I had no reason to doubt the virus scanner, my computer took me to the site I asked it to, displayed all contents properly and there were no pop-ups to bother me.

Before I sign out, just wanted to share another tip with you, after every scan, it is necessary to check online for new updates of the virus scanner. A virus scanner needs to be updated so that it can detect and remove new viruses that crop up every day.

Enough for today, I have to get back to work, since my old reliable computer is back; I have no reason to sit idle anymore!