When using Google search in Google Chrome the usual list of search results appears. However, when I click on one of the results it does not open the nominated website but instead directs me to some other website which displays either a blank page or shows me search results from a different search engine. If I complete the same search using Google through Internet Explorer when I click one of the search results I am directed to a website which again shows a blank screen. This behaviour started several weeks ago (with no obvious reason for its occurrence) and a scan of the computer using my antivirus product shows no indication of a virus. The computer is running Windows XP. (more…)

Recently you advised a reader who lost all his data to back up regularly and mentioned that you automatically back up your files every hour. You say that it’s better to do this automatically than manually. Obviously in order to back up automatically it is necessary to have the backup media connected all the time, otherwise you have to connect it each time it’s going to back up, which could cause difficulties. But if it’s always connected, isn’t the backup media also vulnerable to a virus that gets into the computer? (more…)

Not long ago my computer stopped working properly and I could not open any internet browsers. This was closely followed by several messages appearing which indicated that several viruses had been detected. A friend of mine who is fairly technically literate had a look at the computer and told me the virus had totally wiped everything from the hard drive – documents, photos, etc plus the operating system. Obviously I am fairly devastated and not being technically literate I am unsure what to do. Can you advise whether it would be possible to recover the deleted data? (more…)

What is the best way to wipe hard drives of all information before disposing of old computers? Is there someone who offers this service? (more…)

When attempting to download the VEOH web player (to watch videos online) a piece of security software called “Security Centre” installed very quickly before I could do anything else. The Security Centre application closed all running programs and commenced scanning the system, eventually showing a number of files which were (supposedly) infected with a virus. In order to remove the infections the software insisted that I must pay for the full version. Even more frustrating is that now whenever the computer starts the opening screen is the Security Centre page trying to connect to the internet for purchasing the software. I cannot stop this from happening using CTRL-ALT-DEL and cannot install the software through the Add/Remove Programs control panel as it is not listed. It also seems to be preventing me from running programs such as Microsoft Office, claiming that the relevant program file is infected. After spending a lot of time with this problem I found no alternative but to purchase the software, subscribing to the software for a two year licence at $50.00. However, to my frustration $70.00 was deducted from my credit card for the “lifetime” subscription! In any case, it now seems to have cleaned the supposedly infected files although the program is still present on the computer (I can see the icon in the system tray, next to the clock in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen). The Windows Firewall also appears to be disabled, although I cannot say whether this was caused by the Security Centre software or was disabled beforehand. How can I get rid of this software once and for all while also preventing this from happening again in the future? The computer is running Windows Vista. (more…)