Win32 Virus Removal

By: Andino Ward

The moment you have probably been waiting for is finely here. After scaring the pants off you regarding e-mail account hacking, here's the information that can help you avoid having your e-mail hacked.

And if you are the victim of e-mail hacking, then I hope this information will help you correct the problem.

I am going to start with the most effective means of dealing with ending the nightmare of e-mail hacking. In most cases, it is a pretty good bet that if your account has been hacked, it is the result of a virus that has been deployed by a hacker.

If you suspect that the hacking is virus related, then it is important to immediately discontinue using your e-mail and your computer in general. Next, if you haven't already, proceed to back up all of the information that is important to you, such as, documents, favorites, music and pictures onto an external hard drive or flash drive.

I might add that backing up your important information is really something you should be doing daily. Once you have backed everything up, then you will need to completely wipe everything off your computer.

Before doing a wipe, it is important to remember that you will need the system operating disks in order to reinstall your operating software, i.e. Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.

Wiping your system will involve getting rid of everything on the system so that it is literally a blank slate. This will remove the virus completely, leaving you with a system that will be as clean as it was when you first purchased it. Once your system is clean, you can begin the process of reinstalling the operating system and all the information that you backed up.

The aforementioned process is the one that should be used, no matter what, when it is determined that a computer is under attack from a virus and is done best by a company that specializes in computer service and support.

In the event you don't want to get a system wipe and reformat, then you should immediately change your account password and change or remove all personal information, before you start using your e-mail account again.

Furthermore, immediately contact your e-mail service provider. Contacting your ISP (Internet service provider) should be simple and provide a quick remedy. Unfortunately, this will only be an easy solution if your ISP has real phone support.

In researching this issue I was amazed to find out that a number of e-mail accounts being hacked are free accounts that have little or no customer service. Two of the most frequently compromised e-mail accounts are Hotmail and Yahoo and, ironically, neither one provides telephone support.

Because of the aforementioned, if you are using these accounts and need support you must access their online support system and submit your problem by way of a Web form e-mail and be prepared because the response will take awhile and may not happen at all.

There is also the aspect of security software, which is a rather extensive subject and one that requires some in-depth details and can't be covered in this series as it is a subject all its own, but I will do a series later on this year that will break down the realm of computer and network security software.

Finally, here are a few more things that should be done in conjunction with the things previously mentioned, if and when you encounter someone hacking into your e-mail account: create a new account with an ISP that has real support; notify all your contacts and let them know that your old account has been hacked and that they should ignore and delete all future e-mails from the old account; use your new address from now on; create a good strong password; protect your new password and never write it down where it can be easily found and never share it with others; do not rely on free accounts to keep information that is important; avoid open Wi-Fi hot spots that are unsecured; and back up your important data daily.

I truly hope that this series will give you a better understanding and awareness of e-mail account hacking and what to do should it happen to you.

Should you like more information on the subject don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail — and make sure it's really from you.

Andino Ward is vice president of marketing and operations of Bardissi Enterprises in Hatfield.