What to do when your PC or Mac is infected with a virus or malware

If your PC or Mac shows a scary popup or unexpected behaviour, stay calm — don’t follow any on‑screen instructions, click supplied links, or call numbers shown in alerts. Immediately disconnect the device from the internet, take a photo or screenshot of the message, and make a note of what happened; these simple actions preserve evidence and make recovery much faster. If you’re in Herefordshire, call Optimised Computing for fast, on‑site malware triage and safe removal so you don’t risk making the problem worse.