Business computer services have to deal with computer viruses for their customers every day. Many home computer repair technicians can recall those instances that end up as “A very costly and stressful day”, thanks to a nasty computer bug. And these powerful viruses have done serious damage to numerous business computer services worldwide. Sometimes, the damage is so bad from an infected computer that even an expert computer repair technician can’t save the data or completely clean a computer with normal adware removal techniques.

Unfortunately, computer viruses have evolved to be more invasive and sneakier than ever. In the past, amateur ‘script kiddies’ would write computer viruses and malware in their parents’ basements. They would create them simply for random mischief and bragging rights between each other. But underground crime syndicates now hire them based on their superior knowledge and skills with systems and coding. Instead of random mischief, these hackers are now shutting down networks nationwide, stealing information such as identities and credit cards, and locking people’s data without their knowledge. They then demand ransoms amounting to billions of dollars and are disrupting critical real-life infrastructures. Here we look at the 5 most destructive pieces of malware that mobile computer repair techs have had to deal with over the years:

1. Creeper

In the early 1970s, a strange program began to appear around ARPANET (a precursor to the modern internet). As the worm moved to other computer systems throughout the network, it would display a message “I’M THE CREEPER: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.” Programmers moved to create the first “anti-virus” program, dubbed “Reaper”. The Reaper was itself a virus, similar to Creeper.  Its sole job was to remove the former virus (then itself) from infected machines.

2. Elk Cloner

The Elk Cloner virus was the first computer virus to appear "in the wild" (outside of the network it was originally created). The virus originated from a 9th-grade student by the name of Richard Skrenta as a practical joke. It spread from computer to computer via floppy disk. Infected machines displayed a short poem by the author once a user accessed the floppy 50 times. According to the writer, it was “The program with a personality”.

3. Code Red

The name of this bug has nothing to do with its severity. The discoverers of the virus named it based on the Mountain Dew Code Red beverage they were drinking at the time. This virus was the first to exploit the “buffer overflow” error in early windows programs. By sending a targeted piece of data to the machine, it exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in web browsers to inject malicious code into a computer.

4. Love Letter, a.k.a "I LOVE YOU"

Back in the early 2000s, millions of people made the mistake of opening a seemingly innocent looking email with an attachment that simply read “I Love You”. What happened next caused a global pandemic from the first ever virus based on social engineering. Clicking on the attachment not only overwrote user’s image files but also emailed itself to the top 50 people in the victim’s Windows address book. The total damage from the I Love You virus cost businesses and governments an estimate of $10 billion on computer repair services and office virus removal specialists.

5. CryptoLocker

This virus signaled the start of a whole new level of nasties. A professional computer repair technician remembers dealing with this piece of malware, which: “infected millions of computers around the world. The crazy thing about this new attack, called a 'Ransomware' attack, is that it encrypts all personal files on an infected system.  It does so behind the scenes and without the user's knowledge. The system is lost after a reboot, and the user is left with an ultimatum.  They either need to pay a ransom for the files or lose them forever. This ransom was often several hundred dollars, to be paid in cryptocurrency (BitCoin), which left many people puzzled and frustrated.” He continues by adding this harrowing tale of removing this ransomware on a clients’ computer:

“In one case, my computer repair company helped a customer decrypt their files. We do not recommend attempting this without experience, considering the risks of failure during decryption.  One should also take into account that you are paying the criminals, and allowing this crime to perpetuate. The computer repair technician who was helping our customer drove with them to the only BitCoin ATM/ Service in Los Angeles to generate the funds to pay the scammers.  Unfortunately, the customer was unable to pay the ransom in time, and the files remained locked. However, via the web console used to accept the BitCoin payments, we were able to contact who was behind the attack and requested they unlock the files as we had the money. After a 10 hour day of troubleshooting, we were finally able to restore their files. It was a very costly and stressful day, indeed.”

The Best Virus Solution is a Visit from an Expert in Business Computer Services

The best defense against any insidious viruses that you find in your computer is to call for help from an expert computer repair technician. And in the Los Angeles area, there are no better computer and laptop repair techs than those at PC Fixer. They have seen the worst computer viruses around.  Their technical know-how has helped many business computer services to recover from potentially ruinous outcomes. With an expert in computer repairs by your side, you're always prepared to tackle any of these challenges.

However, most computer repair technicians agree that the best offense against computer viruses is a good defense. And that means keeping your anti-virus and anti-malware up to date.  In addition, perform regular adware removal to make sure it stays clean of any junk. Furthermore, be vigilant and cautious when opening email. Never click on any attachments from addresses you don’t recognize. Even if the email comes from someone you trust, make sure the attachment itself is legitimate. Basic steps like these help minimize the need for business computer services for office virus removal.

Stay safe out there!