How do I check that my laptop is free of malware, spyware, viruses and etc?
I have HP laptop and I use vista, I have installed and run avast anti virus and also have my hp tot up care adviser which tells me that my firewall is running and my internet extortion is working, however it warns me that I have no anitvirus software? does it lately want me to download norton or something? or is my computer at risk? also ...I was browsing the internet and something came up, my used of an adult bellboy changed to look like 'my computer' area showing my folders as it would if I were in 'my computer', it told me it was an online scanner or safe keeping and that I had malware and prompted me to download this personal protection factor and delete something called trojan, it was also showing red flashing expos underneath my folders saying 145 (or whatever the number) trojans found! ..I downloaded that and went along with it...now Im so out of it and wondering if I installed something I shouldn't have? if it was legit? also wondering how I would read over my computer completely to ensure its free of malware and viruses and stuff that can intervene up my computer...I know this is a long winded question but Im not a computer expert or anywhere close and I in need of to make sure its free of all that stuf
Go to download.com and download one or all of these-spybot,adaware,malwarebytes,update them then run them and see if they find anything-if they do-get them to eliminate anything they find
DO NOT Gain ANYTHING FROM THE OFFENDING SOFTWARE. Such softwares are known as Rogue Software, or Scareware. They business by pissing you off SO much ("www.microsoft.com is attempting to download a virus! Now redirecting you to SpywareXP.com where you can securing the full version...") or scaring you ("92837891762349 viruses found: Infostealer.bank.exe, Porn.tracker.exe...") until you give up and valid buy their product, which doesn't even work anyway, all it does is remove the malware it downloaded onto your system in the first site! (And it doesn't even always do that...)
What you should do is download Malwarebytes. It's a free malware killing program.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
