Pop-ups and fake warnings
Adverts appearing over everything, or a full-screen “your computer is infected, call this number” message. The warning is the scam; Microsoft never puts a phone number on an error.
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Virus and malware removal in Wakefield
Pop-ups, fake virus warnings, a browser that keeps sending you somewhere else, or a phone call that ended with a stranger on your computer. We clean it up, check what was left behind, and explain what happened.
No charge if you decide not to go ahead.
If you think you have just been scammed
If someone has been on your computer remotely, or you typed bank details into something you now doubt, deal with the money first and the computer second.
Unplug the computer from the internet or switch it off. Call your bank on the number on the back of your card, or dial 159, which reaches most UK banks’ fraud teams. Change your email and banking passwords from a different device. Report it to Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud, at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.
Then bring the computer in. Scammers usually leave remote access software behind so they can come back, and that is the first thing we look for.
Signs something has got in
Browser taken over
A homepage or search engine you did not choose, toolbars that came back after you removed them, or searches that bounce through strange sites first.
Someone had remote access
You let a caller “from Microsoft”, BT, Amazon or your bank onto the computer. Even after they hang up, the remote access program they installed is usually still there.
Programs you did not install
New icons, “PC cleaners” and “driver updaters” that nag for payment, or things starting with Windows that were not there last month.
Suddenly slow or busy
Fans running flat out while you are doing nothing, or the disk constantly working. Not always a virus, which is why we check rather than assume.
Friends getting odd messages
Emails or messages sent from your account that you did not write. Usually a stolen password rather than something on the computer, and the fix is different.
Antivirus switched off
Windows Security turned off and refusing to come back on is a classic sign something is stopping it.
Files renamed and locked
Documents with strange extensions and a ransom note. Turn it off and get in touch. We will not pretend locked files can always be unlocked: without a backup, often they cannot.
What we actually do
We look before we wipe anything. That means checking what starts with Windows, what is installed, what the browsers have been changed to do, and whether any remote access tools are on the machine. Then we remove what should not be there, put the browsers back to normal, make sure Windows and its built-in protection are up to date and switched on, and tell you what we found.
Sometimes a computer is so far gone that reinstalling Windows is quicker and cleaner than chasing every last piece. If that is the case, we will say so before starting, and talk through backing up your files first.
Nothing starts until you have agreed the cost. If you decide against it, there is no charge.
Worth trying yourself first
If it is only pop-ups in the browser, reset the browser in its settings and remove any extensions you do not recognise. Uninstall programs you did not knowingly install, especially “cleaners” and “optimisers”. Then run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan from Windows Security, under Virus & threat protection, then Scan options. It restarts the computer and scans before most malware can hide.
If the problem comes back after that, or the computer will not let you do any of it, that is the point to get in touch.
Still on Windows 10?
UK home users stop getting Windows 10 security updates after 13 October 2026. The computer will keep working, but every new hole found in Windows 10 after that date stays open, and that is exactly what malware goes looking for. Plenty of older machines can move to Windows 11, sometimes with an upgrade first. Tell us the make and model and we will tell you honestly which yours is.
STRAIGHTFORWARD FROM THE START
Tell us what you need
What it is doing, and when it started.
Get a free quote
Options and costs explained before work starts. No charge if you don’t go ahead.
Get back to it
A clean computer, with what we found explained.
Questions people ask
Do you charge just to look at it?
No. The quote is free, and free to walk away from.
Will I lose my files?
Removing a virus does not normally touch your documents and photos. If a full reinstall of Windows is the cleaner answer, we will say so first and talk through backing up what matters before anything is wiped.
Can you not just install an antivirus?
Installing another antivirus on top of an infection rarely shifts it, and some of the worst offenders are fake antivirus programs. We remove what is there, then make sure the protection built into Windows is switched on and up to date.
I let a scammer onto my computer. What should I do?
Switch the computer off or unplug it from the internet, then call your bank on the number on the back of your card, or dial 159. Change your important passwords from a different device. Report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. Then bring the computer to us to check for anything the caller left behind.
My computer still runs Windows 10. Is that a problem?
UK home users stop getting Windows 10 security updates after 13 October 2026, so it gets more exposed to new threats from then on. Tell us the make and model and we will tell you honestly whether it can move to Windows 11.
Do you guarantee the work?
Ninety days on the work done and on parts we supplied.
Tell us what it is doing.
A message saying what you are seeing, and roughly when it started, is enough. Quotes are free and there is no charge if you decide against it. We are open 24 hours, so send it whenever suits you.