Virus & Pop-Up Removal in San Antonio

Most “viruses” I see these days aren’t really viruses — they’re scams that trick people into installing the bad stuff themselves, or into handing over remote control of the computer. Either way, the cleanup is straightforward, and the more important part is what you do next.

What this usually looks like

• A full-screen pop-up with a beeping alarm: “Your computer is infected. Call Microsoft at 1-800-…”
• Browser redirects — you search Google and end up on a site you didn’t click
• Pop-ups that you can’t close, or that come back every time you open Chrome
• A scam caller who said they were “from Apple” or “from your bank” and asked you to install something — usually AnyDesk, TeamViewer, or UltraViewer
• A computer that ran fine yesterday and is now crawling, with an unfamiliar icon in the system tray
• Random charges on your card after you “renewed your antivirus” with someone who called you

If you let someone remote in

This happens to good, smart people every week. Don’t panic, but call me sooner rather than later. The two things to do today:

1. Unplug the computer from the internet (pull the Ethernet cable, or turn off the Wi-Fi)
2. Change the password on your bank, email, and any account where you saved card details — from a different device, like your phone

Then I’ll come over and clean the machine, look for what they installed, and walk you through what they likely saw.

What I don’t do

I don’t sell you a yearly antivirus subscription. For most people on Windows, the built-in Windows Defender is fine — paid antivirus often does more harm than good. If you’re on a Mac, you almost never need one. The thing that protects you isn’t software; it’s knowing what the scams look like, and I’ll show you.

House calls

This is the job I get called out for the most, especially for parents and grandparents. I come to you so you don’t have to unplug everything. Free diagnosis, flat price, 30-day guarantee.

While I’m out, I can also help with slow Wi-Fi or recover anything important off the old machine before we start fresh.