Win32 Virus Removal

Beware of Keylogger, said Joseph Masso, owner of Liberty Computer Services LLC, at 57 Dodgingtown Road, in Newtown. Keylogger is the worst computer virus around these days, said Masso, 26, of New Milford.

"It monitors people's keystrokes. It has the capability to obtain credit card numbers, bank account passwords and other personal information that can be used to steal their identity," he said.

The business, which opened in 2005, repairs and upgrades PC and Mac computers for individuals and small businesses. Services include home networking, software and hardware installation, data recovery and back-ups, and spyware removal.

The business also sells computer supplies, and services customers on-site and at their home or office. Repairs cost $75 an hour at the business, and $100 an hour at customers' homes.

"Over the past few years, viruses have been particularly nasty, rendering people's computers unusable," he said. "In the future, I see them only getting worse -- more tricky and more deceiving."

Pop-up windows that are difficult to close, icons appearing for programs that never were installed, and a computer that's running slowly or freezing are signs of a virus, Masso said.

To avoid getting a virus, "be careful about downloading games, music and screensavers from sources that are unfamiliar to you," he said.

Masso is a graduate of Porter and Chester Institute in Watertown and a Microsoft-certified systems administrator.

"Before I started going to Joe (Masso), I would spend many hours on phone calls (with technical support people) overseas, and most of the time my problems didn't get resolved. It drove me nuts," said Al Curesky, president of Summit Stair Inc., an interior stair manufacturer in Bethel.

Now, "I just call Joe. He has debugged anything I've ever had, networked my computers, and installed and set up all my new computers and programs. He's very knowledgeable and prompt."

Liberty Computer Services is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional hours are available upon request. Call 203-364-9220, or visit www.libertycomputerct.com.