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Martz06 Asked June 2020

My father loves using the computer but somehow keeps getting a virus... Any solutions?

My father (Who lives in our guest home) has dementia. He still loves to use the computer. He likes going onto zoom to see everyone and talk to friends since he is isolating. Somehow he keeps getting a virus. He has anti virus software but I’m thinking he is clicking on adware or pop ups. I’ve told him before never to click on anything but he forgets. I think he believes the words “your computer has been infected and you need to download this”. I’m not very technical so we have to take his computer in each time to have the virus removed. I would say it’s easier if he wouldn’t use a computer, but I think it’s good for him. I just can’t think of any solutions.

Tothill Jun 2020
Do you have an ad blocker on his computer? They work really well.

JoAnn29 Jun 2020
I think your virus protector has where you can block pop ups. The virus I have had trouble with was the one that takes up your screen and says click to fix the problem. You can't even X it out. That one will keep you from being able to use the computer. This happened to my gson's laptop. Eventually it lost its charge. I went to recharge ages later and the pop up was gone and he could get in but I told him to still have it checked out for viruses.

My work IT guy told me years ago...don't play games on the internet. Facebook is the worst for viruses.

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Isthisrealyreal Jun 2020
Have you tried malware software? It is different than virus security and used in conjunction with antivirus software.

This stops you from going to suspicious sites. I love it and have had several instances where it says the page has been blocked do to....

It isn't very expensive and I think that everyone should have it to protect their computers.

cwillie Jun 2020
Check your antivirus settings, I use avast and they offer a security plugin for your browser that can block malicious websites - it's free.

ZippyZee Jun 2020
As long as there's no credit card info or anything like that on the computer, a virus shouldn't cause any real problems if he's just using the computer to chat. Just do a fresh install of Windows if it gets bad, no need to take it to a repair shop or anything.

There are parental control types of software that will allow him to only access approved websites. As long as he sticks to mainstream sites (like Zoom) he should not get viruses.

Ahmijoy Jun 2020
I don’t know much about computers, bit I do know there are,lots of different anti-virus programs. Maybe ask your computer repair person what kind they recommend for your particular situation. Dad won’t remember what you told him about not clicking on those ads or warnings.

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