How-to procedures

A credit freeze stops lenders from opening new credit in your name. It is free, does not affect your credit score, and lasts until you lift it. In the US you have to place it separately at each of the three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each takes a few minutes online.

3 versions

Adware and browser hijackers very often live in a browser extension. Removing it takes a minute once you know where to look. Steps for Chrome, Edge and Firefox on Windows, and what to do when the Remove button is greyed out.

3 versions

Uninstalling a program, or a scan that quarantines its main file, often leaves the pieces that start it again: a scheduled task, a startup entry, a service, a folder in your user profile or a browser shortcut with a web address added to it. This page goes through each place in the order that stops the program from coming back, on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

1 version

Reporting a phishing email in your mail service trains its filter and gets the sender flagged. Forwarding it to the national reporting address helps take the fake website down. Do both, then delete the message. Do not click its links or open its attachments while you do it.

4 versions

Reporting gives you a reference number for your bank and insurer, and lets police link your case to others. Which office takes the report depends on where you live. Gather the evidence first, then file with the right agency below. If you lost money, call your bank or payment service before anything else.

3 versions

The hosts file tells Windows which address to use for a website name before it asks the internet. Malware adds lines to it to block antivirus and update sites or to send you to fake copies of real sites. The default Windows file contains only comment lines, so anything else in it was added by a program or a person.

1 version

A browser hijacker changes your search engine, homepage or new tab page. Removing the program or extension that did it comes first; then you put the settings back, or reset the browser as a whole. What each browser's reset removes and keeps is listed below, because it differs a lot.

3 versions

A Microsoft Defender Offline scan restarts the PC and scans it from outside the running copy of Windows, so malware that hides or defends itself while Windows is loaded has a harder time. It is built into Windows Security on Windows 11 and Windows 10; it takes about 15 minutes and restarts the PC twice.

1 version

Most "virus alert" and prize pop-ups in the corner of the screen are browser notifications: you (or a fake "click Allow to continue" page) once let a site send them. Taking that permission back stops them. The steps differ per browser; blocking the site is enough, and you can also stop all sites from asking.

3 versions

Two-factor authentication (Google and Microsoft call it two-step verification) asks for a second proof, such as a code or a security key, after your password. A stolen password alone then no longer opens the account. Set it up on your email account first: whoever controls your email can reset the passwords of everything else.

4 versions

Ransomware encrypts your files and leaves a note demanding payment. Do three things in order: stop it from spreading and keep the evidence, identify the family and check for a free decryptor, then recover what you can from shadow copies and backups. Paying does not guarantee your files back.

1 version

Speed matters more than anything else: a payment can sometimes be stopped or reversed if you report it quickly. Contact the company you paid through first, using the number on your card or its official website, and ask for the payment to be reversed. Then report the scam and secure your accounts and computer.

6 versions