How to kill a virus
Any computer around the world which is hooked to the internet is susceptible to a computer virus attack. Even if you do not connect your computer to the internet it can still be infected if you use any kind of removable storage device to transfer data to and from your computer. In the case of a computer virus prevention is always better than cure.
Some of the points that you need to keep in mind to avoid a virus are:
Always use genuine operating system and software on your computer and make sure they are updated on a regular basis. Operating system manufacturers release periodic updates that have security fixes and patches that block access to vulnerabilities that were found by crackers and could be abused to install malicious code on your computer.
Make sure you have a good antivirus installed and the virus database of the antivirus is up to date. Because an out dated antivirus is no good when it comes to securing your computer. Also more does not mean good in terms of antivirus. Have only 1 antivirus installed on your computer at all times. Having more than one antivirus installed can cause a mess. A strong antivirus is the best way to kill a virus before it does any damage at all.
Once you have your antivirus installed make sure you scan your computer once every fortnight at least. Also make sure you scan each attachment and document before you access it.
If you have already been infected by a virus you can tell when your programs begin to act erratically. You will also notice a drop in performance and long access time for files and programs.
If you do not have an antivirus installed, install one as soon as possible and if you already have one installed update it. Close all programs and windows and run a deep scan of your computer using the antivirus. Do not interrupt the virus scan and let it complete.
Once the scan is complete the antivirus will present a report of files that it found were infected you can choose to delete these files. But if they are important files that are required by programs you can choose to put then in quarantine. If your computer did not find anything try running a boot time scan to remove viruses that load with the operating system.
If you cannot boot up your computer or it displays the dreaded Blue screen of death, then you would need to reformat your computer and reinstall the operating system. This will inevitably mean that you will lose all your data. But hope you will have learnt your first lesson on how to avoid and kill a computer virus.