One of the huge problems facing computer owners over the past four or five years has been the introduction of "Fake" Antivirus or Antispyware software! This software usually arrives on the desktop by means of a pop-up message indicating an infection or problem has been detected, but also offering to remove the problem for FREE if the user will "CLICK HERE"! (yeah, right!)
Keep in mind, there is nothing FREE on the Internet except information!
One variation of this issue is software claiming to be, 'Antivirus 2011' or 'Antivirus 2012' and also featuring a logo similiar in shape and color to that of a major software manufacturer. The "provider" of these solutions has gone out of their way to convince unsuspecting users of the legitimate nature of their "solution", but unfortunately clicking the red "[X]" button in the upper-right corner of the window OR (worse yet) clicking "[ OK ]" to accept the solution only makes matters worse!!
The solution I recommend is to press <Ctrl> with <Alt> and <Delete> at the same time in order to launch the Windows "Task Manager", go to the "Processes" tab, find each listing of "iexplore.exe" and click "[ End Process ]" after selecting all of these items. This will close Internet Explorer (IE) and any work the user was in the process of doing, such as an e-mail or social network posting, will be lost. If a web browser other than IE was being used such as Google's "Chrome", Mozilla's "Firefox" or Opera, then the user should know how to recognize these programs on the Processes list by examining it when the program is run the first time.
If the user accidentally selects "explorer.exe" and clicks "[ End Process ]", do not panic! This happens all the time.
The entire Windows' Desktop may flicker and disappear along with icons and the "Taskbar", but these will reappear after thirty to forty-five seconds or so. iexplore.exe is the web browser, explorer.exe is the Desktop navigation and interface process. The Operating System will not automatically restart the web browser, but it must restart the navigation process in order for the user to interact with the system; this is the most important part of Windows and it is also commonly referred to as the Graphical User Interface (or GUI -- pronounced 'goo-ee' ).
Various pieces of legitimate software are available to undo the damage caused by the fake Antivirus or Antispyware "rogue" programs. However, user must generally have these downloaded ahead of time and be prepared to deal with the consequences of getting "hit" by one of these seemingly helpful offers!
One alternative remedy to the problem is to create the "System Restore" or "System Recovery" DVDs for the computer as soon as it is taken out of the box from the store or online vendor. These DVDs create a "snapshot" (or "image") of the system in its original factory state including any third-party software the manufacturer negotiated to include in the package deal. It is a sure way to recover complete functionality of the system and eliminate any unwanted and undesireable software contamination.
However, documents, photographs, music and video downloads and any additional software added onto the system AFTER it was first used will also be LOST and will need to be REINSTALLED or put back onto the system from backup media.
I will describe the benefits of creating backups of Documents and other personal files in a future Hired Gun article.