There are many times when you are comfortably working on your computer and you suddenly start facing some unforeseen problems, like periodic freezing of the screen, or unknown error messages. You might even notice that some new files have come up, or some of your old files are missing. All these are signs of computer viruses. There are many types of viruses, including worms, Trojans, malware, spyware and many more. All these are hazardous to your data and information. Some viruses, called spyware, steal your personal information, like usernames and passwords, and send it to hackers.

How exactly can you define virus?
A virus is basically any unwanted process that runs on your computer without your consent. If you are attacked by a virus, your computer might slow down, or your personal data might be harmed. But you can protect yourself from viruses, as there are many antivirus programs launched by companies to prevent virus from entering your computer. Some major antivirus making companies are:
• Norton
• Mc Afee
• AVG
• Avast
• Kaspersky
• Panda
• Avira

How do these antivirus software applications work?
These antivirus applications come with a virus scanner, and as soon as a virus attacks your computer, these programs detect it, and delete or quarantine it. Virus makers keep modifying their programs to fool the antivirus software, and therefore, you need to update your antivirus every few days to keep track of new viruses.

Besides these software packages, many organizations such as Fixit99.com provide remote IT support as well. They offer online PC repair, in case a virus has affected your PC.

There are some guidelines that you can follow for PC repair and virus fixing:

• Clear out your browser cache and delete cookies and temporary files.
• Uninstall all the unused programs from your computer.
• Use Disk cleanup and Defrag utilities more often.
• Scan your PC with antivirus programs regularly.
• If your antivirus package does not include anti spyware, make sure you get a separate anti-spyware utility and scan your computer with it.

In case, a virus does attack your system despite all the precautionary measures, you can call up the online technical support, and they can guide you, and provide you step by step instructions to remove the virus. In some cases, they can even hook up onto your computer remotely, and perform the tests and checks themselves. This requires a secure connection, so make sure you have a protected connection before allowing any third party any access to your PC.

If your computer has important data, and it is affected with virus, you should contact remote IT support as soon as possible, because any delay could lead to further loss of data or security. If you keep waiting for long, the virus may develop to extreme limits and may even destroy important hardware. There are many cases where memory chips or hard disk are affected by virus action. Make sure you contact the best online technical support for best results.