Have you been keeping up with the latest trends in technology and paying extra attention to potential cybersecurity threats? Or maybe an acquaintance of yours has recently revealed how they had to deal with malware-related issues at work after the company was targeted by a severe ransomware attack.
Of course, cybersecurity-related problems are not necessarily occurring just because hackers want to target a business.
Sometimes, there are cases of going for an individual or, rather, targeting multiple individuals and attacking their devices with the intention of getting something out of it. For example, personal data.
And then there are instances when a cybersecurity threat is malicious intent, existing to mess with people just because someone (a hacker) finds joy in seeing others suffer.
A good example of this is malware that causes Internet-related issues. More often than not, if your computer is not connecting to Wi-Fi, restarting the router or the computer itself tends to fix the issue. Not to mention that there are other troubleshooting methods.
However, if the issue persists despite trying to troubleshoot it using traditional methods and your ISP cannot help, the odds are that malware blocked Internet connection, and you need to focus on working on that.
Why Did You Become a Malware Target?
First things first. You need to distinguish whether malware is targeting your device, i.e., computer, smartphone, and tablet, or whether it is targeting your network.
With the latter, you might struggle to find a solution because of limited access to the network. Your Internet service provider has better chances of actually solving the issue.
Now, if it is a device-related attack, then you are better off and should be able to troubleshoot the problem without getting help from the ISP.
You need to identify what might have caused the problem in the first place so you can avoid it in the future.
If the attack targeted an Internet browser specifically, then perhaps you were not paying attention to what email attachments you opened, and even your antivirus software could not protect the device.
Or perhaps you clicked on an ad or a URL that redirected you to a shady landing, which led to getting your computer or mobile device infected with malware and blocking access to an Internet browser.
The odds of a hacker targeting you, in particular, are rather slim. Your carelessness is a more likely reason behind the problem.
How to Solve the Problem?
Not having access to your Internet browser is a bothersome thing since you cannot use the Internet to surf the web.
To eliminate the malware, there are a few different methods that you can try.
- Scan the device with antivirus software
The first suggestion is to scan the device with antivirus software. If the tool failed to detect and eliminate the threat in real time, it might still be good enough to take care of the issue after.
Launch the antivirus and make sure that it scans the system thoroughly. If the tool detects the threat, command it to eliminate the malware, which will hopefully solve the problem.
- Reinstall the Browser
It might seem like a stretch, but reinstalling an Internet browser could be enough to circumvent the malware and have it disappear from your device. Delete your browser and then reinstall. If nothing else, giving the browser a clean slate is worth a try.
Also, if you feel like circumventing the problem differently, you can also try to use a different Internet browser. It is possible that the malware blocked a specific Internet browser, and switching to an alternative is more than enough.
- Install Updates
Both your device and the Internet browser might be missing the latest updates, causing the malware to run without encountering obstacles, even if there is an antivirus tool in place.
Similar to reinstalling the Internet browser, installing the latest updates can also bring that extra security element, thanks to the recent patches introduced with the latest version. And the same can be said about your device. After all, missing the latest updates is known as one of the reasons why your computer or mobile device is prone to cybersecurity threats.
- Reinstall the OS
In case other troubleshooting methods are not good and you cannot find a different solution, there is still the option of reinstalling the operating system.
Instead of giving the Internet browser a clean slate, you can give it to your device. Sure, bothering to reinstall an OS because of malware is annoying, but you might have no other choice but to do that.
Reinstalling the operating system should wipe any traces of corrupted data, including system files that were affected by malware and are causing you troubles with the Internet browser.
