I think my (somewhat) new computer has a virus, do I really have to pay Dell $129 to get rid of it?
Asked by
wilma (
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)
September 2nd, 2011
I got a new Dell desktop 4 months ago. The past week or so it has been acting up. It won’t always connect to the internet, the pages load slowly and I get a lot of “timed out” messages. I called Dell because I have a couple of years of support that came with my purchase, but they said that it was a software problem and that wasn’t covered. They checked it out remotely with “HijackThis” and hinted that there is a virus and other problems that they would need to take care of. They want me to pay them $129 for a onetime fix.
Is this really what I need to do to get my computer fixed?
I think that the HijackThis left some kind of report on my computer, but I’m not sure.
Can anyone give me some help or advice with this?
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10 Answers
I would suggest downloading a few free programs first before paying Dell a nickel for this so-called “one time fix”.
Ccleaner
Malwarebytes
Ccleaner will get rid of a lot of crap that may be slowing your system down, and Malwarebytes is one of the best (and free!) anti-malware programs available.
Hijackthis is not something a novice wants to screw around with.
If hijackthis left a report on the PC (I believe it did), find it, than copy-paste it here so that we can have a look at it.
@FutureMemory I already have both of those programs and I ran them both before calling Dell.
I also have McAfee that came installed on the computer and Advanced System care and Obit Malware fighter.
@the100thmonkey I will try to do that. It won’t leave me open to displaying too much info online will it?
Am I the only person that thinks HijackThis is a terrible name for legitimate registry editor software?
@robmandu it was scary to me when I saw it on my computer.
I use Avira, and haven’t had a problem in years. I have also fixed a few other peoples systems with Avira. One of them had just paid someone else $200 to not fix the problem. Best of all, Avira is free.
McAfee is nearly useless; most of the infected systems I’ve fixed had McAfee.
@jerv Should I try to get Avira on my computer and see if it will fix it?
Will I have to remove McAfee first?
@robmandu It’s a great tool. And I believe its name is meant to be a taunt to those who try to fudge up other people’s computers/lives.
@wilma There are dozens of free alternatives. Personally, I wouldn’t pay DELL a dime, but then again..I’m pretty confident that I could remove ailments from my system by myself.
@wilma Yes, and yes. The best place to get the most up-to-date version is here (That is the place that the official site sends you to download)
No, you do not need to take it to such expensive technical service for removing the virus. I would recommend TeeSupport to you, they are expert on removing viruses,
spyware, and system maintenance…
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