I just got a raging beast of a new laptop. Runs Left 4 Dead like a dream. Problem: I've been in Mac-world for 7 years. Now that I'm back in Windows Land, I gotta be careful. What's the best free/low-cost/open-source spyware/malware/virus protection around? [more inside]
posted by GilloD on Aug 19, 2009 - 24 answers

So for the first time in...well, ever. I let my pc get infected. The virus is calling itself 'Internet Antivirus Pro'....and this is how it happened... [more inside]
posted by dawson on Jun 1, 2009 - 9 answers

Can a virus on my desktop infect my external HD? Solutions needed for backing up data on a computer I'm about to nuke. [more inside]
posted by gnutron on May 20, 2009 - 7 answers

I've been attacked by some malware called "Spyware Protect 2009". Have you guys seen this before? Screenshot and symptoms inside - hoping someone can help me kill this thing. [more inside]
posted by CRM114 on Mar 26, 2009 - 22 answers

Facebook-filter: Somehow two links have been posted to my facebook page, NOT by me, which directly people to a website to "Vote for my modeling pic please :) http://theimageparlour.com/images/?&uploaded=58291H560.jpg" or similar ... that pages contains malware or virus. How is this getting posted? How can I stop it? [more inside]
posted by unclezeb on Mar 15, 2009 - 8 answers

So how vulnerable is the Internet to some sneaky worm attack that targets Windows? It looks like organised crime is running increasingly sophisticated malware attacks to control large numbers of clients, if I were a bad person I could imagine a smart, quiet rootkit or similar that infected many, many machines then went live and could be very disruptive. [more inside]
posted by bystander on Jan 23, 2009 - 14 answers

Is there a nastyware lurking in this computer? Strange Yahoo! Mail contact list kidnapping observed... [more inside]
posted by Iosephus on Aug 18, 2008 - 3 answers

Now I'm just mad. Before I drag my stupid, crap laptop over to the Geek Squad, help me figure out some solutions for what's like a malware/adware problem. [more inside]
posted by santojulieta on Aug 16, 2008 - 24 answers

Has the Galbaldia Hotel infected my computer with malware? [more inside]
posted by Jack Alucard on Aug 4, 2008 - 4 answers

I've read so much here lately 1 2 3 about not browsing as an admin, decided to check it out and yepper, I surely was using an admin account. I've set up a non admin account, made a few other changes (described inside), hoping to find out from The Hive Mind if I am now safe enough to breathe easy(er). [more inside]
posted by dancestoblue on Jul 21, 2008 - 14 answers

What free Windows malware detectors/removers should I put on a CD or USB stick? [more inside]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen on Jul 9, 2008 - 6 answers

I have some malware on my machine -- yes, I know, stupid. Prolly got it from pr0n. I'm running Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 on a Gateway laptop with a Pentium 4, 3.06GHz and 480 MB of RAM. I can connect to the nets, but I can't FTP into sites (I'm a freelance web designer) with either Dreamweaver or WS-FTP, my weapons of choice. [more inside]
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit on May 20, 2008 - 26 answers

Why (and how do I fix it) does my Windows desktop keep crashing? [more inside]
posted by ZaneJ. on Jan 17, 2008 - 15 answers

Please help me get rid of this spyware infection before I just give up and re-install Windows. [more inside]
posted by Venadium on Feb 7, 2007 - 14 answers

Help this desktop power user protect his new laptop from evil internet demons while using public Wifi hotspots. [more inside]
posted by chrominance on Oct 27, 2006 - 18 answers

Has anyone heard of a computer virus/worm/trojan that causes a photo of someone's rotten teeth (meth mouth) to pop up at startup and occasionally? [more inside]
posted by bradn on Jul 25, 2006 - 3 answers

Particularly stubborn infestation of dialer.gbdial (or something very similar) on a Windows XP machine - any suggestions, either of solutions or reliable anti-malware forums where I can post logs? [more inside]
posted by terpsichoria on Mar 16, 2006 - 6 answers

I know that cookies may be automatically and surreptitiously installed on my computer when I arrive at a webpage, but what about spyware/malware/virus ? [more inside]
posted by studentguru on Feb 25, 2006 - 13 answers

run-mbi16.exe virus/worm/trojan [more inside]
posted by Kwantsar on Nov 23, 2005 - 7 answers

An extremely malicious malware/adware program has rendered my C: drive inoperable. I have a second hard drive in the closet, which I can connect as the C: drive, install XP onto, and then connect the old C drive as the D drive and copy some vital files over. Can I get most of my data safely this way? [more inside]
posted by XQUZYPHYR on May 2, 2005 - 12 answers

Linkedin Virus: Have any of you guys received an email in the last week from a friend's valid email address asking you to join their LinkedIn network? It seemed harmless enough so I clicked the link, wasn't interested and closed the browser. Soon enough, my whole machine slowed down to a crawl and even after repeated reboots, it's still almost locked. Sound familiar? [more inside]
posted by dhoyt on Aug 21, 2004 - 16 answers

Windows XP firewall + Zone Alarm = problem?
I've just upgraded to Windows XP and I have three questions (so far...). [more inside]
posted by Termite on Jun 7, 2004 - 8 answers