KTRV Fox 12 Computer Repair Business Booming

Computer Repair Business Booming

Meridian, Idaho -- Business is booming!

One Treasure Valley computer repair company is seeing a huge increase in the number of people with viruses that virtually shut down their machines. And the worst thing about it is that your virus protection won't likely be able to stop it.

It's a busy time at Scott Galloway's computer repair shop, Quick Computer Services.

"We're repairing between 15 and 25 infected systems a week. The typical job runs $100 to $150 per job. That's around $10,000 in a month," said Galloway.

That's because more and more clients are coming in with computers that have been infected with Malware or Spyware. They're software that's written to effect your computer by giving you pop up and warning ads driving you to other websites that want you to buy something or take your credit card information.

"Anything that's normally a paid product, but a website says that it's free, that's where you can pick up a malware infection," said Galloway.

If you've had something pop up on your screen that looks out of the ordinary, you know how annoying it can be and it can be costly. For realtor Ron Minegar, not only did it cost him money, it also cost him and his clients valuable time.

"I was juggling three different clients at the time. It was a Saturday and so I was preparing for an appointment and basically wiped out my whole day on that Saturday," said Minegar.

Minegar actually got his infection through Facebook. But there are many ways Malware and Spyware can worm there way into your computer.

"It can show up on your e-mail, it can show up as a Facebook message, it can show up if you're searching for videos online," said Galloway.

Galloway also says not even the best virus protection software in the world can stop the infections once you've inadvertently clicked on a link to one of them. He says you need to change the way you browse, meaning you need to think a little bit before you visit a website and interact with it. And then there's the best piece of advice of all.

"If you haven't heard of it and you don't know exactly what it is, then you best not install it," said Galloway.

Galloway counts anything by Adobe, Microsoft and RealPlayer on the safe-list of places to download. The best thing to do is contact your local computer specialist for more information on ways to protect yourself from getting infected.

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