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A computer virus is keeping me awake, literally.

The clock reads 3:26 a.m. and I wake up to voices in my apartment. At first I ignore it. But then, I begrudgingly get out of bed and trace the sound to my closed laptop.

Opening it, I see a video being played on my computer.

I have a virus, adware to be exact. When my computer sits idle for an extended amount of time the malware opens an Internet browser and brings up some video of people doing ridiculous stunts.

After a little research, I find out the virus is called blinkx virus. It’s a hijacking program that redirects my computer to these videos and then brings up an ad, followed by the blinx signature lowercase, red “b” logo that’s I’ve learn to dread.

I consider myself a pretty savvy computer user. So I’m pretty embarrassed to admit I know exactly how I got duped into downloading this virus.

I was multitasking around the house while trying to finish some work on the computer and I needed to download MSN Messenger to communicate with an editor. I went to Google and typed in MSN Messenger and hit the first link that came up. There was a button to download. Before it was done downloading I realized what I’d done. But it was too late.

It wasn’t a legit MSN Messenger site. In fact, as much of 38 percent of Google searches can lead to malicious software that can infect your computer, according to a Barracuda Labs 2010 Security Report. (http://www.barracudalabs.com/downloads/2010EndyearSecurityReportFINAL.pdf)

The report also shows the frequency of search engine malware. Their report found 1 in 5 search topics lead to malware. So if you want to be sure to steer clear of potential hazardous searches, avoid search the words “music” and “video” together. That mix will return 17 percent of malware. The second greatest risk is searching “Jenni” and “Jwoww” which will return an estimated 15 percent of malware.

In my case, searching for MSN Messenger, I ended up with three unknown icons on my desktop, which I was able to identify and uninstall. I kept having the reoccurring problem of my computer playing random videos like the one woke me up at an ungodly hour of the morning.

A scan of anti-virus software seemed to fix the problem for good, but not after a few frustrating and sleepless hours. 

Lesson learned, the hard way.

Kristy Hessman is a freelance writer for a variety of online and print outlets. She also hates losing sleep. Be smarter than she was and click here to save money on the latest norton antivirus software: http://couponpal.com/coupon-code-lists/internet-security