Imagine this scenario. You are browsing different websites early in the morning when suddenly you receive a popup message. It says your computer has just been infected by an unheard-of virus, and thus it’s working more slowly than before. You need to download the “antivirus program” immediately or “click here to repair”. At first you don’t believe it, but then, you also notice that indeed your PC has not exactly been at its peak performance for the past few days.

So you are caught in a dilemma; should you 1) follow what the popup says, 2) wait for more pop-ups, or 3) ignore the warning completely? Here are some of the best steps to take:

Do not immediately trust the virus popup window

If you are running an active anti-virus program, it is possible that the system itself is really notifying you of a threat through a pop-up. However, unless it bears the semblance of your installed software, never immediately trust such a warning. It is highly probable that the pop-up itself is the source of the malware or virus.

Avoid closing the window instantly

Perhaps you are one of the many who have been taught to close suspicious windows and notifications as soon as possible. It is basically like how you manage your inbox. If you receive a spam, you delete or report it to your mailing platform. However, a lot of experts recently mentioned that such tactic—that is, closing the window using the X button found on the upper right corner—may actually cause more harm than good. A lot of scammers and hackers these days are smart enough to activate the download process of the malware as soon as you do this. The worst part is the actual installation happens without you ever knowing it because it can be done in the background.

What you should then do is hit alt+F4, which immediately closes the active window. If this doesn’t work, just turn off your computer with the windows / restart option without touching the pop up window. There are other methods, but if you are unsure, just restart.

 Install antimalware/antivirus programs

If you don’t want to receive any more threats similar to this, you need to invest in computer security, such as antivirus and antimalware programs. There are a lot of reputable brands out there such as AVG, Kaspersky, and McAfee. They usually follow a four-step approach to threats: detection, removal, quarantine, and prevention.

There are also a number of reliable protection applications online, but they may not be as comprehensive as the subscription-based or paid ones as far as features are concerned. Thus, make the small sacrifice today rather than putting all your confidential data at risk later on.

 Update your prevention tools

On the other hand, if you’re already running computer security tools, see to it that they have been updated to the latest version. Many PC owners make the crucial mistake of neglecting this step, thinking they still remain protected as long as the license for these programs have not expired yet. Updates carry patches and new features that allow these applications to offer better protection. Besides, almost all types of updates are automatic or don’t come with extra cost.