Pop out the pop-up!

Dear TPH,
I think my computer has a virus because I get a pop-up advertisement every time I log in. It warns of a possible security breach, and when I click, it takes me to a website for software called Antivermins. The message pops up every five minutes and I cannot seem to get rid of it. Please tell me how I could get rid of it.
– H.

Dear H,
Sometimes, you wake up to a beautiful world, to bird songs, the sweet scent of flowers, courteous people with sincere smiles and warm hearts. Sometimes the world you wake up to is cruel, deceitful and devious. Those are the days when your computer is infected by a virus or spyware that pops up in your face, nagging you like the buzz of a mosquito in the dark. You try to thump the multi-legged vampire, but end up slapping yourself in desperation. Personally, pop-ups are right up there with mosquitoes, narrow minded people, radios with broken tuners, people who disturb me when I am singing in the shower and reality TV among the things I find most annoying. So I can totally understand how serious your problem is.

You have become infected with one of the many fake anti-spyware programmes that seem to be on the increase. It usually starts with some pop-up ad that warns you that your computer may be in danger or at risk. It then proceeds to advise you to install something which then starts a nasty chain reaction of spyware infections on your computer. Antivermins is particularly nasty. They use some tricky tactics to get you to install their programme and they don't seem to offer an easy way to remove it. Once it's on your computer it pesters you mercilessly like a politician on his election campaign. The idea is to scare you and nag you until you give in – and in this case purchase the commercial version of their programme. I found a reputable site that details the steps necessary to get rid of this pest. I found some useful information about your problem at http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic69886.html which is a reputed website. There, you will find a step by step outline on how to remove Antivermins (and similar spyware). Good luck!