DLG Systems Consulting       Computers Working For You

 Spyware & Virus Removal Services

Viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware, keyloggers, and other forms of malware are all a serious threat today. In the early days of computers most viruses were just an annoyance by placing messages on your screen, but today's viruses often destroy data or even worse steal private information like credit card and account information.

If you believe your computer is infected with a virus or other form of malware, you should take immediate action to remove it and completely clean your system. Unfortunately, antivirus programs do not usually fully remove the virus from your system. To completely remove most malware, you must identify the type of infection and stop and remove all running forms of it, then clean all traces of it from the registry and other locations.

DLG Systems Consulting uses the newest technologies to combat dangerous attacks from rogue programs. We have the tools to scan your systems to ensure they are free of harmful software, and can help you choose the right protection for your computer. With over 15 years' experience, we can remove all forms of adware, spyware, trojans, worms, and viruses from your computer. If your computer is running well enough to connect to the Internet, we can connect to your computer anywhere in Canada and completely remove all virus and malware infections remotely. Our remote virus removal service is completely safe and secure, and you can sit and watch on the screen as we work and remove the virus infection. If you are located in the Toronto / GTA area, then we can come to your location and remove the malware from your system onsite. For a free consultation please call us toll free at (647) 367-5978 or contact us by email or web form on our Contact page.

Below is some helpful information regarding rogue infections.

• Definition of a virus, spyware, malware, worm & trojan
• Prevention of Spyware / Viruses
• Symptoms of an infected PC
• Spyware by Definition 
• Downside of Spyware 
• Legailty of Spyware 
• The Hype on Spyware 
• Spyware & Surveillance 

Definitions

Virus: A computer virus is a piece of code that is secretly introduced into a system in order to corrupt it or destroy data. Often viruses are hidden in other programs or documents and released when they are opened.
Worm: This is a special type of virus that spreads without any user interaction, typically by exploiting a flaw in popular software.
Malware: Malware is short for malicious software. Malware is software designed specifically to disrupt a computer system. A trojan horse , worm or a virus could be classified as Malware. Some advertising software can be malicious in that it can try to re-install itself after you remove it.
Spyware: This is software that secretly gathers information about a user while he/she navigates the Internet. This information is normally used for advertising purposes. Spyware can also gather information about email addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.
Trojan Horse: This is a program that disguises itself as another program. Similar to a virus, these programs are hidden and cause an unwanted effect. They differ from viruses because they are normally not designed to replicate like a virus.
Keylogger: Keystroke logging (often called keylogging) is a type of spyware that tracks the keys pressed on a keyboard usually in a covert manner so that you will not be aware that your actions are being monitored.

top of page

Prevention of Viruses, Spyware, Malware, Worms

First of all, every computer connected to the Internet needs up to date antivirus software to help prevent and remove infections. We highly recommend Trend Micro antivirus products to both home and business clients.  For residential clients wishing to use a free product, we highly recommend AVG Free.  Before you go out on the Internet and download a free virus removal program, do some research because many of the freebies available actually are malicious programs and will do more harm to your computer.
New viruses and other malicious bugs are introduced everyday so sometimes even an updated antivirus program will let them infect your computer and not remove them. Some of the newer bugs are so sophisticated that they corrupt the antivirus program installed on your computer to a point that they do not work. They will also not allow installation of any other program. This is where DLG Systems Consulting can step in to help. To clean your computer of it's infections, we will run several different scanners to remove malicious software.
Many times even these scanners can not remove all infections so we must manually find and delete the directories, files, and registry keys.
Once the infections are removed, we clean the computer of junk files and registry keys which will speed your computer up greatly.  We will also update your operating system with the latest security updates to help prevent future infections and verify that your antivirus software is up to date.
We provide a limited guarantee that your computer is free of infections.

top of page

Symptoms of an Infected PC

• screen is full of pop-up ads, warning messages or errors 
• unwanted toolbars in your browser 
• homepage has changed 
• mailbox is full of spam 
• computer runs slower than usual or stops responding
• Internet access is extremely slow or not accessible
• homepage has been changed
• anti-virus program will not start, is disabled or will not update 
• computer boot up is very slow 
• operating system will not load 
• computer stuck in a boot-up loop 
• the dreaded "Blue Screen Of Death" appears 
• you get unusual error messages 
• applications do not work normally 

top of page

Spyware by Definition

Spyware is short for advertising supported software (Adware) which can send information about your Internet habits back to the computer from which it's launched. Spyware is often built into free downloads and works in the background without a user's knowledge. Since it doesn't record an individual's personal information, it's often used to create marketing profiles based on surfing habits.

top of page

Downside of Spyware

While this may be a great concept, the downside is that the advertising companies also install additional tracking software on your system, which is continuously sending your tracking information over the Internet. While according to the privacy policies of the companies, there will be no sensitive or identifying data collected from your system and you shall remain anonymous, it still remains the fact, that you have a "live" server sitting on your PC that is sending information about you and your surfing habits to a remote location.

top of page

Legality of Spyware

Even though the name may indicate so, spyware is not an illegal type of software in any way. However there are certain issues that a privacy oriented user may object to and therefore prefer not to use the product. This usually involves the tracking and sending of data and statistics via a server installed on the user's PC and the use of your Internet connection in the background. These tools are perfectly legal in most places, but, just like an ordinary tape recorder, if they are abused, they can seriously violate your privacy.

The Hype on Spyware

While legitimate adware companies will disclose the nature of data that is collected and transmitted in their privacy statement, there is almost no way for the user to actually control what data is being sent. The fact is that the technology is in theory capable of sending much more than just banner statistics - and this is why many people feel uncomfortable with the idea. People rarely ever read a privacy statement on a web site. Millions of people are using advertising supported "spyware" products and could not care less about the privacy hype. In fact some "Spyware" programs are among the most popular downloads on the Internet.

top of page

Spyware & Surveillance

There are also many PC surveillance tools that allow the user to monitor all kinds of activity on a computer, ranging from keystroke capture, snapshots, email logging, chat logging and just about everything else. These tools are often designed for parents, businesses and similar environments, but can be easily abused if they are installed on your computer without your knowledge.

Return to Service & Support webpage