Over the years. How many viruses have you had?

Camper6

Well-known Member
I have been running a computer for about 20 years that I can remember. I mean home computers not industrial ones like the IBM System 36. Those mainframes were extremely fast. Backups were on 8" diskettes.

Those were standalone and not connected to the internet or such.

But home units is what I am talking about. Over the years I have had only two virus problems that caused a shutdown.
On one I took home a diskette from the golf course for some data. I was looking after the handicaps.
The diskette had a virus on it that wiped out the operating system. I had to reinstall the operating system.
On another it was the ransom virus where the computer is inoperable and the claim is that it's the FBI and that you have to pay to get your computer running again. (Even if you pay, you don't get it to run again.) That one was scary because if you had a camera installed it would show you a picture of your room.
Fortunately I was able to clear the ransom virus.
But those were the only two. And I did have an antivirus system installed but that doesn't make any difference if the virus that is used is a new one and your anti-virus is not updated.
On my present system I have no virus protection. It's an old unit. I took the anti virus off because they kept bugging me to pay for it. I couldn't believe how much faster the computer ran after I took it off.
 

Been around the same time-frame as you, Camper .. a bit over 20 yrs. Have also had 2 virus problems.

The first was a virus attached to an email, very early in my use of computers. Due to my ignorance, I thought it was a joke and opened it. Over a couple of days, there were sounds coming from the hard drive that indicated it was definitely on its way out. What a racket! Had to get a new hard drive.

Second time, was hacked through Facebook. Computer shut down and the techies could not figure out what happened. Again, had to get a new hard drive.
 

Last time I installed a new hard drive it was kind of funny. The system automatically connected me to the internet in order to down load updates and all these viruses and Ransomeware descended upon it locking it up. Interesting how many there must be out there just waiting to invade. I went out and bought a malware program, installed it, only then was I able to download all the updates.
 
None. The "threat" of viruses is a great selling tool for antivirus software.
Reminds me of those "Home & Car Warranties."
 
It's about what I expected. I think there's a lot of hype about anti virus software. This is how I figured it. Unless it's real time software, there's not much point if you get a virus before the new update has it on your computer and it's only valuable after the invasion. What's the point of removing when the damage is already done? A check on your registry is much more valuable. That's where the damage can be done before you even realize it. And they could be sitting in your computer, long before you know it.
 
Anti-virus software is like insurance; you never know how much you need it until you do.
Well unless you get reimbursed for any damage that may be caused , your anti -virus software isn't worth the price of admission. I still say if your anti-virus software is live and intercepts the virus before it come in, then just finding it after it's there is too late.
 
Chromebooks are very unique machines for many reasons: they are fast, light, often portable, very affordable and can take care of most things the average consumer uses a computer for. Security is also a factor we know many of you are wondering about, because word around the streets and inter webs says these computers can not get a virus.

Let’s start by mentioning no device is 100% virus free, if a good hacker looks hard enough he will probably find ways to attack your system. This stands true even for the almighty Macintosh computers, which have had (extremely) rare infections , despite their fame of being virus-proof.

With that said, we will have to say Chromebooks are about as safe as you can get when it comes to computer security. These devices operate completely in the cloud, making them a glorified browser that takes advantage of all the Chrome features Google pushes out.
 
Chromebooks are very unique machines for many reasons: they are fast, light, often portable, very affordable and can take care of most things the average consumer uses a computer for. Security is also a factor we know many of you are wondering about, because word around the streets and inter webs says these computers can not get a virus.

Let’s start by mentioning no device is 100% virus free, if a good hacker looks hard enough he will probably find ways to attack your system. This stands true even for the almighty Macintosh computers, which have had (extremely) rare infections , despite their fame of being virus-proof.

With that said, we will have to say Chromebooks are about as safe as you can get when it comes to computer security. These devices operate completely in the cloud, making them a glorified browser that takes advantage of all the Chrome features Google pushes out.
Thanks for that. I'm considering one of those in my next purchase.
 
I seem to remember getting a trojan virus when I had a PC. I found an article on what to do to remove it. Haven't had any since I've gotten my Macs. I'm protected with anti-virus and malware software. I have them on all my devices.
 
Used Linux exclusively since early 2000's only had one incident in 2015, was hacked via Facebook 'Words With Friends'. Closed FB permanently, never looked back, haven't missed a thing. No problems since.
 
none. one of the benefits of macs, not many people want to write viruses for them... the virus creators go where the money is.. .Windows computers. I did have some adware a few weeks ago...
 
You all se to be talking about PC’s. I run Apple products...over the years since I started seriously computing (1994 I think) I’ve run a variety of Mac desktops, 2 or 3 different Mac mini’s, and 3 different laptops—2 MacBooks and my current one, a MacBook Air.

Zero viruses.

Also I have a constantly running Malware Program that detects and eliminates any that I might pick up as I browse the net.
 
I got one bad on a desktop running Windows XP, it was Cybot-B. It wouldn't let the desktop icons load. I took it to a fixit shop, but it came right back. Had to buy the one I'm using now. That was back in 2012. Still can't figure where I picked that up since I am very careful - not opening suspicious emails or visiting questionable sites.
 
I got one bad on a desktop running Windows XP, it was Cybot-B. It wouldn't let the desktop icons load. I took it to a fixit shop, but it came right back. Had to buy the one I'm using now. That was back in 2012. Still can't figure where I picked that up since I am very careful - not opening suspicious emails or visiting questionable sites.
Likely got it from a site you visited because you got it back.
 

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