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Virus and malware removal in Okotoks

CompuTech removes viruses and malware in Okotoks with a free look first. The family PC full of things nobody installed on purpose is the most common Okotoks cleanup, and it's usually adware rather than anything worse.

5.0 · 758 reviewsNo fix, no fee
303 Wentworth Row SWCalgary, ABGet directions
Laptop on a tidy desk showing a passing security scan with a teal shield icon
Same-day slots · call before noon
We remove:
Viruses
Ransomware
Spyware
Adware
Browser hijacks
Scareware
MoOwner and technician.Answers the phone, does the work. Since 2015.
5.0 · 758 reviewsAbout CompuTech
  • Free diagnosis with any repair
  • One flat quote before any work
  • No fix, no repair fee
  • Most repairs done same day
Hours, address and more about CompuTech
Hours
DayShopIn-home
Mon10:00 AM – 6:00 PM10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Tue10:00 AM – 6:00 PM10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Wed10:00 AM – 6:00 PM10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Thu10:00 AM – 6:00 PM10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Fri10:00 AM – 6:00 PM10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sat10:00 AM – 6:00 PM10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sun10:00 AM – 6:00 PMDrop-off only
Getting here
  • 303 Wentworth Row SW, Calgary, AB. Walk-ins welcome. Get directions →
  • In-home visits booked by phone or online. Call before noon for same day.
  • 403-333-3114
Hours
CompuTech's shop at 303 Wentworth Row SW, Calgary, AB is open Mon–Sun 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM, walk-ins welcome. In-home visits across Calgary run Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Sunday is drop-off only.
The shop
CompuTech's shop is at 303 Wentworth Row SW, Calgary, AB. Walk in to drop a machine off, no appointment needed. Call CompuTech on 403-333-3114.
Booking
In-home visits from CompuTech across Calgary are booked by phone or through the site; calling before noon gives the best chance of a same-day slot.
Pricing
Every CompuTech repair in Calgary starts with a free diagnosis and one flat quote before any work. If it can't be fixed, there is no repair fee.
Turnaround
Most CompuTech repairs in Calgary are finished the same day. Calling before noon gives the best chance of a same-day slot.
Who turns up
CompuTech is one technician who answers his own phone and does the work himself, fixing Calgary's laptops, networks and smart homes since 2015, over 5,000 repairs. CompuTech is rated 5.0 out of 5 across 758 reviews.
Machines
CompuTech repairs Windows and Mac laptops and desktops in Calgary, and rescues photos and files from phones and tablets that won't start.
Customers
CompuTech works with homes and small businesses in Calgary. Business IT is month to month with no lock-in contract.
Not offered
CompuTech is not a phone repair shop, and sends a machine still under manufacturer warranty back to Apple, Dell or Microsoft when that is the better deal for the customer.
Service area
CompuTech comes to homes and offices across Calgary and Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane and Okotoks. Strathmore, High River, Langdon, De Winton, Rocky View County, Crossfield and Diamond Valley are covered by arrangement.
Facts reviewed
Reviewed September 2026. Hours change on the day they change; call 403-333-3114 to confirm before a long drive.
Signs you're infected

If any of this sounds familiar, call us

Constant pop-ups & ads
Adware and browser hijacks removed
Suddenly slow
Hidden miners and bloat cleared out
Unknown programs
Spyware & keyloggers wiped
Strange emails sent
Compromised accounts secured
Fake security alerts
Scareware & rogue apps gone
How it works here

South on the 2A, at your door

CompuTech covers the whole of Okotoks for in-home visits. Okotoks is one of the four towns on the in-home list, so a visit here's booked exactly like a Calgary one. We come to the house, look at the machine for free, and give you a flat price before anything is taken apart.

We cover the whole town. Drake Landing, Cimarron, Crystal Shores, Air Ranch, Westmount, Suntree, Wedderburn, D'Arcy Ranch and the older streets down by the Sheep River. If you're on an acreage between Okotoks and the highway, that's fine too, just give us the address when you book.

Old town, new town

Okotoks has a genuine split and it shows up in the work. The newer subdivisions bring big houses with Wi-Fi that gives up somewhere around the bonus room, plus a lot of smart doorbells, cameras and TVs that all want to be on the same network and don't always agree about it. The older streets bring machines with years on them, where the honest question is whether an upgrade is worth it or whether it's time to move the files somewhere new.

Either way the shop at 303 Wentworth Row SW is open seven days if dropping it off is easier than waiting in.

Know what you have

Not all of it is a virus, and that changes the fix

The five things Calgary customers call a virus, as CompuTech sees them. People say virus for anything the computer does that it shouldn't. Fair enough, but the categories behave differently and the right fix depends on which one you've got. Here's what we actually see, roughly in order of how often.

Adware and browser hijacks

By far the most common. Your search engine changed on its own, a new toolbar appeared, every other click opens a tab you didn't ask for. It arrives bundled inside something you installed on purpose, usually a free converter, a driver updater or a video player. It isn't destructive, it's just relentless, and it often writes browser policies that survive a normal uninstall.

Scareware

Software that exists to tell you that your machine is broken. It reports hundreds of critical errors, colours everything red, then asks for payment. The errors are invented. Some of these are ordinary junk software and some are doing something worse in the background.

Miners

Software using your processor to mine cryptocurrency for someone else. The tell is heat and noise while you're doing nothing, and a machine that crawls the moment you ask it to do anything. It's the one infection you can often hear before you see.

Information stealers

The quiet ones, and the ones that matter most. They go after saved browser passwords, session cookies and anything that looks like banking. There may be no symptom at all, which is why we check for them even when you came in about something else.

Ransomware

Files renamed, unreadable, and a note demanding payment. Different problem, different response, and there's a section on it further down this page.

The work

What a proper cleanup actually involves

What a CompuTech cleanup involves beyond running a scanner. Running a scanner and clicking remove is the part everyone can do themselves, and it's maybe a third of the job. The reason infections come back a week later is that the scan removed the payload and left the thing that reinstalls it.

  • Back up first, before anything is removed, so nothing is riding on the cleanup going perfectly
  • Scan from outside Windows where it matters, because software that's running can hide from software that's running
  • Go through what starts with the machine: startup entries, scheduled tasks, services, and anything set to reinstall itself
  • Check the browsers properly, including extensions, search settings and the policies an installer can write to lock them in place
  • Look at what the infection touched, not just the infection, since a changed proxy or DNS setting will keep working long after the file is gone
  • Verify by using the machine afterwards rather than by trusting a green tick on a scan result

Then the boring but useful part: updates applied, the built-in protection actually switched on and configured, and the browser tidied. That's what stops the same thing arriving again a fortnight later.

If it's ransomware

The first ten minutes, and what not to do

CompuTech's first-ten-minutes advice for ransomware. If your files have been renamed and there's a note demanding payment, what you do in the next few minutes genuinely affects the outcome.

Do this

  • Take the machine off the network, Wi-Fi and cable both, so it can't reach anything else
  • Leave it switched on, because some variants keep useful traces in memory that a shutdown throws away
  • Photograph the ransom note with your phone, since the wording identifies the variant
  • Unplug any backup drive that's still attached, before it gets encrypted too
  • Check whether other machines on the same network are affected

Don't do this

  • Don't pay. It funds the next one, marks you as someone who pays, and buys no obligation on their side
  • Don't rename or delete the encrypted files, because a decryption tool may need them exactly as they are
  • Don't keep restarting the machine hoping it clears
  • Don't plug a fresh backup drive in to save what's left while the machine is still infected

Then the honest part. Whether your files come back depends on which variant it is and whether you have a backup that wasn't plugged in at the time. Some variants have known flaws and free decryption tools exist. Many don't, and no amount of money changes that. We'll tell you which situation you're in rather than take the job and find out later.

The other kind

The pop-up that tells you to call a number

One of the most common calls CompuTech gets in Calgary usually isn't an infection at all. This is one of the most common calls we get, and it usually isn't an infection at all. A page opens claiming the computer is infected, fills the screen, plays an alarm, and gives a phone number to call. Sometimes it won't close.

That page is the scam. It's a website, nothing more. No real security warning has ever asked anyone to phone a number. Close the browser, and if the browser won't close, hold the power button until the machine turns off and start it again. Nothing has been damaged.

If you already called

Then treat it seriously, and don't be embarrassed about it. These people are convincing and they do this all day. If you let someone connect to your machine, assume what they installed is still on it and that they saw whatever was on screen.

  • Disconnect the machine from the internet
  • From a different device, change the passwords on your email and banking
  • Call your bank if you gave any payment details, and say what happened
  • Bring the machine in before you use it again

The same goes for a phone call out of the blue from someone saying they're with Microsoft, your internet provider or your bank's security team. None of them phone people about their computers. Hang up. You don't owe a stranger politeness.

Straight answer

When cleaning isn't the right answer

When CompuTech recommends a rebuild instead of a cleanup. Most infections are removable and your setup survives. We'd rather clean than rebuild, because a rebuild costs you your programs, your settings and an afternoon.

There are cases where cleaning isn't honest, though, and we'll say so. If someone had hands-on control of the machine, if the infection had administrator access and time to settle in, or if it's the kind that installs several unrelated things at once, the question stops being whether we can remove what we found and becomes whether you could trust the machine afterwards. On a computer you bank on, that matters.

When that's the situation, a clean rebuild with your files carried across is the better answer and we'll explain exactly why rather than defaulting to it because it's faster for us. And if the machine was already old and struggling before any of this, we'll tell you that too, because spending on a cleanup for a computer that needs replacing anyway helps nobody.

Afterwards

What actually keeps it out

What CompuTech sets up before leaving, so it doesn't come back. Nobody wants a lecture, so this is short and it's the part that does the work. None of it costs anything and we set it up before we leave.

  • Use the protection that's already built into Windows, kept switched on and up to date. It's genuinely good and you already own it
  • Keep the browser current, and delete every extension you don't recognise or don't use
  • Two-step sign-in on your email account above all else, because your email is what everything else resets through
  • Run day to day as a standard user rather than an administrator, so software can't install itself without you saying yes
  • A backup that runs on its own, to a drive and to the cloud, which turns ransomware from a disaster into an afternoon
  • Be suspicious of free download sites for anything, especially converters, driver updaters and video players

The single highest-value item on that list is the backup, and it's the one people put off. If you have one already, ask us to check it actually restores. A backup nobody has ever tested is a hope, not a backup.

Timing

What to expect on the day

What to expect on the day CompuTech comes out to Okotoks. Call in the morning and there's a good chance of a same-day visit. Most repairs finish in that visit. In-home runs Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday the shop is open but the road isn't, so Sunday means drop-off.

Give us the make and model when you book. It's not admin for the sake of it: it tells us whether the part you probably need is something we carry or something that has to come in, and that changes whether we can promise same-day before we set off.

Bench jobs, board-level faults, data recovery, anything that needs to be opened up properly, travel back to Calgary. You get the diagnosis and a flat price by phone before we start, then the machine comes back to Okotoks.

How our pricing works

No surprises. Ever.

You get a clear, flat-rate quote before any work begins. If we can't fix it, you don't pay the repair fee. Simple as that.

Every job is different, so we look first and quote you directly. No surprises, and nothing happens until you've said go.

Every repair includes
A free diagnosis, every time
A flat quote before any work starts
No fix, no fee
How it works

Three steps to a clean machine

1
Scan & identify
A deep scan finds every threat, even the hidden ones.
2
Remove & clean
Threats removed safely. Your files stay intact.
3
Protect & advise
Protection set up + plain-language tips so it won't return.
Rated 5.0 / 5 · 758 reviews

Mohammed provided fast, and professional service. The price was very reasonable. Would recommend to anyone with any type of computer issues.

Scott Courchesne · Local Guide · 43 reviews

I had an excellent experience with Mohammed at Computech. He was able to diagnose the issue quickly and efficiently. He was highly professional, knowledgeable, and explained everything clearly. On top of that, he was very friendly and easy to work with.

Kevin Liu · Google review

Mohammed provided excellent computer services—professional, efficient, and very knowledgeable. He quickly diagnosed the issue, explained the solution clearly, and delivered exactly what he promised. Highly recommended for anyone looking for reliable and competent IT support. The cookies and coffee he provided were great too.

Daniel Wallace · Google review

Questions, answered

We come to you. Okotoks is on the in-home list, so it books like any Calgary visit. Drop-off at the SW Calgary shop is there if you prefer it.

No. The quote you approve covers the job, and nothing gets added for the drive.

Frequently the same day when you call in the morning. Before noon is the best window to catch a same-day slot.

The whole town and the acreages around it: Drake Landing, Cimarron, Crystal Shores, Air Ranch, Westmount, Suntree, Wedderburn, D'Arcy Ranch and the older streets near the Sheep River.

Monday to Saturday. Sunday the Calgary shop is open for drop-offs but there are no road visits.

No. We remove malware without touching your personal files, and we back up first whenever there's any risk.

Most cleanups are done the same day. Drop the machine at the shop or we'll come to you, and you get a clear price before any work starts.

Usually not a virus in the strict sense. It's more often a hijacked extension, a changed search setting, or a policy the installer quietly wrote into the browser. It's still unwanted software and the cleanup still covers it, but it's a different job from a real infection and worth knowing apart.

Age is gradual and consistent. Malware tends to be sudden and situational: fast last month, slow this month, or fine until you open a browser. If the fans are running hard while nothing is open, something is using the machine that you didn't ask for.

For most people, no. The protection built into Windows is genuinely good now and it's already on your machine. What catches people out isn't a missing product, it's an out-of-date browser, an extension nobody remembers installing, and clicking something in a hurry. We'd rather set those straight than sell you a subscription.

Yes. Less of the destructive kind and far more of the adware and browser-hijack kind, usually arriving inside something that looked like a video player or a document converter. The symptoms are the same: new search engine, pop-ups, a browser that won't stay put.

Almost never. Tools that report a huge number of scary-sounding issues and then ask for payment to fix them are selling alarm rather than a cleanup. Some are outright unwanted software themselves. If one is on your machine, tell us and we'll remove it along with everything else.

The machine gets hot and the fans run flat out while you're doing nothing, and it slows dramatically the moment you try to use it. A miner wants your processor, so it competes with you for it. It's one of the more obvious infections once you know the pattern.

Take the machine off Wi-Fi and leave it on. Don't pay, don't rename or delete the encrypted files, and don't keep restarting it. Photograph the note with your phone. Then call us. Recovery depends entirely on which variant it is and whether you have a backup that wasn't attached at the time.

No, and we'll say that plainly. Paying funds the next one, marks you as someone who pays, and there is no obligation on their side to send anything back. Some variants have no working decryption tool even if you do pay, because the software was written badly.

No. That page is the scam. A real security warning never asks you to phone anyone. Close the browser, and if it won't close, hold the power button until the machine shuts off. Nothing is broken. If you already called and let someone connect to the machine, unplug it from the network and get it to us.

Bring it in and treat it as urgent. Microsoft does not phone people about their computers. Assume whatever they installed is still there, change the passwords on your email and banking from a different device, and let us go through the machine properly before you use it again.

Usually not. Most infections are removable and your setup survives. We recommend a rebuild when the machine is genuinely compromised at a level where you couldn't trust it afterwards, and we'll explain why rather than defaulting to it because it's quicker for us.

It depends what got in. Adware wants your attention; information stealers want saved passwords and browser sessions. Once the machine is clean we'll tell you honestly which category yours was, and if there's any doubt, change the important passwords from a different device.

Some cleanups finish in an in-home visit. Anything needing an offline scan runs the machine outside Windows for a while, so those come back to the bench. You'll be told which on the phone.

Yes, and the priority order is different: contain it first, work out what it reached, then clean. If several machines share a network we look at all of them, because cleaning one and leaving its neighbour infected achieves nothing.

You get a flat quote after a free look, before any work starts. If we can't clean it, you don't pay the repair fee.

We set up proper protection and walk you through safe habits before we leave. That part costs nothing extra.

Think you've got a virus?

Book a visit to Okotoks, or call.