I hate Malware and I hate the people that create Malware even more. Malware is software created to extort money from you typically via a pop up screen that claims you have a virus. Of course you really don’t have a virus but if you pay $49.95, the pop up screen will go away. Malware is typically NOT caught by your anti-virus software as it is not destructive, just annoying. You can pick up malware from a bogus web site or via a genuine looking email. (I had one client click on a email from UPS stating they were trying to deliver a package. Another clicked on a web page posing as an update from Adobe) Some versions of malware will change or “hijack” your internet home screen again, informing you that you are infected with a virus. Some of the more hideous versions of malware will block your access to the internet and prevent you from running anti-malware software.
The first thing you should do is write down the date you first noticed the pop ups as this helps me destroy it. I can usually kill most malware remotely in about an hour but I have had versions that required a visit to the PC and one version that took me 2 weeks to completey kill.
