Scam?

[lynbrown]

Twice this week, my computer has made an alarming noise and said I had been infected with a virus. there follows instructions on how to fix it. I just switch it off at once. Could it be genuine?

[fiction-factory]

It won't be genuine unless it comes from your own virus checker. Do you have a virus checker in place?

[Calibax]

Almost certainly a scam. The alarming noise is a give away. Genuine virus checkers are there to advise you that you may have a problem, not to scare you, whereas scammers are out to scare you to make you do something stupid.

[Old_Geezer]

I'd supect the warning came from an infection. Or maybe a website advertisement. Scan using your installed antivirus, ensuring it is up to date first. Also run Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware. See if there are things you need to get rid of.

Also maybe give a better description of the event as it may give a clue as to what's generating the warning.

[CarolynDOshea]

I'd suggestion you back up your important files or private stuff to another device before anything happens. You can try minitool shadowmaker for backup.

[david small]

Scam, run a virus checker immediately.

[Buenchico]

I suspect that your computer has become infected by malware, rather than by a true virus.

Download, install and run AdwCleaner to zap it:
https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/

[Guilbert53]

Just to add to the comment above about doing a backup.

There are some VERY nasty viruses and malware around at the moment.

You may have heard of one called "Ransomware" where all your files are "locked" or deleted unless you pay some money.

I am not saying you have it but who knows.

So it is important to "backup" all your personal files.

This can be as simple as copying them to an external hard drive, or a memory stick, or on to another computer, or even up to the cloud with Google Drive or similar product (or even to all of them).

It is VERY important to do this because there is a danger you could lose access to ALL the files on your computer if they are not backed up.

[lynbrown]

thanks all. I have a guy who checks my computer, so I got him to check it out. All OK.