Tech Help What Should I Do? Need Help!

[fused_shadows]

In about mid-February, my laptop got infected with a virus. This virus will not allow me to do another on my computer, open the internet, open Microsoft Word, nothing. At first I looked around all my computer files to see if there was anything out of the usual around that has been causing the virus when a pop-up appeared. It was a warning, saying that there is a file looming around my computer that is sending all my passwords to another computer. I panicked, as I remembered that I had used my dad's paypal account and his credit card number a lot to buy stuff online. I quickly turned off my computer, and removed the battery. I have not since turned it on.

This is where you come in. I do not know what to do. I haven't told anybody until now, and need help deciding what to do. I'm afraid to tell my parents because they spent quite a lot of money on that laptop, and because I am quite embarrassed by some of the things they may find in my computer that I believe may have caused the virus. I have thought of a couple of options: 1. Buy a new similar laptop online and simply throwout the old one. 2. Tell my parents and hope that the technician they hire to fix it does not find any of my wrong-doings, or 3. Tell my parents it is unfixable and beg them to forget about it and buy me a new one.

Any suggestions would be great, as I havent been able to get it out of my mind since it happened.

 

[MoblinPiglet]

With a virus as serious as that, you have to go with option 2 or 3 unless you want to buy a whole new laptop. I know it's hard to parents about things with the though of getting in serious trouble, but in the end you have to do it.

 

[Dragonfly]

I guess it depends on if there are important files on your laptop. Anything that can't be replaced, photos, documents, ect.
Then you should definitely choose the second option.
If not, you should maybe still choose the second option but let your parents first ask some technicians how much that would cost ca. Maybe you can get a new laptop for the same price or even cheaper.
Of course if you're so badly embarrassed, you could choose the third option, but if something is seriously wrong, it's better when your parents know it. You said it yourself, you used your dad's credit card... Most of the time parents are more understanding than we thought they would be, have some trust in them

But I really hope you changed all the passwords you had access to from another computer. When you got the message, it was already sending them to God knows where, right?

 

[Beckira]

Number 2 is definitely your best option. And here's some words that I hope will be of comfort to you:

I have several friends who work in IT fixing broken computers. They have seen everything there is to see on someone's hard drive. And unless you've been partaking in illegal activities using your laptop (running an underground drug ring, perhaps?), I highly doubt that once they locate the source of the problem, they'll feel the need to tell your parents. They know the feeling. They've seen worse.

This does bring up an additional issue, however, and that's telling the IT worker exactly what you were doing at the time of the infection. I know you may be shy or embarrassed, but this is honestly the quickest way for them to find the source of the problem and to get rid of it. You could possibly volunteer to bring your computer in to the repair shop yourself, to avoid that awkward conversation with your parents.

The cost of replacing your computer is absolutely NOT worth the price of potential embarrassment.

 

[MiniMouseofPyru]

This is a serious virus and option 2 is by far the best. Hopefully the technician can figure out what's going on, as this would be helpful to all people.

 

[nonoitall]

I vote option 4. Burn yourself a Linux live CD, use it to backup the documents you want to keep, then reformat that sucker and reinstall Windows to make it good as new. Costs about 15 cents in burned CDs, and no one but you must know (unless of course your dad's financial info is already in the hands of the baddies and they misuse it, which will probably tip him off, but no amount of computer repair can undo a data transfer that's already occurred).

 

[Vanessa28]

Log into safety mode without internet access and you could either scan your pc completely and remove everything suspicious. Or you could move all your important files to a flash drive and completely empty the pc by resetting it to the default settings (in other words, reset it to the way it was when you got your laptop).
But you absolutely in NO WAY should keep quiet about this to your parents. Especially in the case of your dad's credit card. He needs to know so he can block his card in time before anything bad happens. And you don't wanna know how angry he will get when he finds out you never told him. Other thing you must do right away is go to another pc like in the library and change all your passwords on all your accounts. And your dad's paypal account needs to be changed too.

 

[Onilink89]

Did you already tried to boot up it up in Safe-mode and then use System-Restore? (assuming you use windows)

This is basicly a backup feature thats boots up the computer using the previous settings of a specific date. In other words, you can boot up the computer before the date that you encountered the virus. OMG, its a timemachine!

Name the operating system of your laptop, (XP,Vista,7) so i can link you to further instructions.

 

[fused_shadows]

I have Windows 7 on my laptop. If I could restore it to a previous state, that would be terrific. Thanks for the tips everyone.

Btw, I have gone on another computer and changed all my passwords. Also, I know for a fact that my father changes all his passwords every month or so, so I am not too worried about it.

 

[Onilink89]

Using Windows 7 or Vista System Restore - How-To Geek

Just follow the instuctions. Good luck and try to be carefull from now on with surfing/downloading for...interesting stuff.

 

[Norm]

I'd go with #4: accept the fact that your actions may have caused a virus to infect your computer and confess to your parents that this happened. If you can, though, you might want to remove the files you think had the virus beforehand.

 

[Onilink89]

I'd go with #4: accept the fact that your actions may have caused a virus to infect your computer and confess to your parents that this happened. If you can, though, you might want to remove the files you think had the virus beforehand.

Lets see if you take your own advice when hitting puberty

Fused_Shadow, let me give you some advice as an 22 year old male. Don't tell your parents!
Learning from your mistakes and solving them by yourself is life-experience. In this case, you made a wise choice by seeking help from others instead of just confessing to your parents.