Pop-ups got you stressin’?
It’s Friday afternoon and a 3-day weekend starts in just a few short hours. Your boss swings by your desk to give you a quick list of absolute must do’s before you’re done for the day, SIGH. I don’t know about you but there is NOTHING on a Friday, before a fun-filled weekend, that would make me more anxious to clock out then this. Well, except for adware that is.
Adware you ask? If you are getting pop ups on your computer while NOT running a browser, you’ve most likely installed adware. I mean all you want to do is edit some (POP-UP!) letters, so you can (POP-UP!) print the dang thing out (POP-UP!) and e-mail (POP-UP!) (POP-UP!) to your (Pop-up) AHHHHHH! Are you just about to pull you hair out? I know I am. Don’t fret, just try these simple steps and you’ll be laid back with that glass of Pinot Noir in no time.
- Make sure that you are only using one form of antivirus. Sometimes more is better, right? No! Not in this case. Often using more than one will always result in some sort of issue, allowing things like adware to penetrate.
- Run a scan through your antivirus, do not use another advertise service such as “PC Speed Up” or other similar advertised services, if you do you can say goodbye the Friday evening sampler platter of your nutty aged Gruyère.
- If your antivirus scan comes up clear, run http://www.malwarebytes.org This a great tool that is free and quick to use. To run it, disable your systems antivirus first. (Be sure to enable it once that scan is complete)
Viola’! If none of this work, you can leave knowing you have done your due diligence and leave it for the IT dept. You should be on your way to a care free weekend, enjoy responsibly 🙂