by Gail Wilson
Staff Writer
ARCC IT department discusses solutions to computer issues
photo by Miranda Schmidt
A malware pop-up on a computer screen.
Suddenly there are flashing words on your computer screen. “Warning! System running slowly! Your computer may have a virus. Call a live technician toll-free for assistance.”
Knowledge and knowing what a virus is essential to prevention and helpful especially to students.
“A computer virus is software that’s been designed to get into your computer and take over certain aspects of it”, said Tom Wesley, service desk specialist at Anoka Ramsey Community College.
The majority of issues aren’t virus related.
“I would say viruses are less common. The majority of issues are related to malware,” Wesley said.
According to Wesley, malware is not a virus. It is software that gets inadvertently downloaded to a pc or a mac that installs programs that are designed to sell you stuff or record your keystrokes or force you to buy a product when they created the problem in the first place.
A lot of students have run into malware or received a computer virus. It is very common to be afraid of what has happened or to think one’s computer might be ruined.
“First things first, no matter what don’t panic. Talk to people, gather information and educate yourself,” said Victor Bryson, Instructional Technology engineer at Anoka Ramsey Community College.
Bryson encourages students to get information on-line. If it’s possible, have someone sit there with you through it. It’s nice to have two heads looking at it instead of trying to figure it out all by yourself. Bryson said that most everybody has gone through this, sometimes a lot more than others
Paying attention to what is really going on is very important when dealing with a computer virus or malware. Students should make the assumption that any pop-up is not legitimate.
“When you get a pop-up, read what it says. The biggest red-flag is if you start seeing pop-ups asking you to fix something. Type in the message that pops up word for word, exactly the way it’s written {and} you are gonna get information from Google on how someone ran into it and how they fixed it,” said Wesley.
There are solutions to the problems Malware creates but there is no one product that fixes everything.
“A lot of times if you are infected and you need to try to clean up your machine yourself, use a variety of programs. Run them two, three, four times in a row. Then go to the next one. Run it until it cleans up as much as it can then then try the next one,” said Bryson.
According to ARCC IT Department, Malware-Bytes is one of if not the best all-purpose malware and spyware remover tools. This software is meant to be used then deleted off the system once the job is done. It’s important to always follow the instructions and beware of what you are doing.
Photo by Gail Wilson
An example of a possible malware ad to avoid.
When it comes to avoiding having problems with a virus or malware, paying attention is the key.
Things to pay attentions to:
- Where you are surfing.
- What you are clocking on.
- Making sure your antivirus is up to date.
- All operating system updates.
- The computer itself.
“It is a tool just like your car. If you don’t check the oil periodically you are probably going to have some sort of a problem. So think of paying attention as preventative maintenance,” said Wesley, the number one contact person when you call ARCC IT with a question.
For students with access to the network at ARCC, click here for a list of further resources and tools from the ARCC IT Department. Although the IT department can’t work on people’s personal computers, for further inquiries or information, contact the IT Help Desk at 763-433-1510.
