Lessons from getting hit by a computer virus
- Security, Software, Viruses -
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
FOR the nth time, I got hit by a computer virus. This time, though, it was a nasty hit.
I was happily surfing the Internet last weekend when my antivirus software started detecting it. I am not yet sure if it is a Trojan (a malicious program that leaves a backdoor open in your system for hackers to take control), or a computer worm (self-replicating malware). But it was clear. It was annoying and it took control of my laptop.
As one saying goes, there are many ways to skin a cat. The most effective and yet desperate way to get rid of a computer virus is to format the computer. Wipe the hard drive clean, and start afresh. But that would mean losing all your important files, data, and programs — not to mention wasted man hours in reinstalling the operating system, drivers, etc. So that wasn’t an option. I had to find a way to take out the computer virus with surgical precision.
