Computer Hacked...3 Late Orders and 1 Pissed Client. What Should I Do?

This all started midday, last Saturday.

I was in the middle of writing a couple of articles for a client, and a security message pops up telling me that I need to activate my license. I never knew that the Microsoft security center came with a license; I thought it was built-in to the Windows software. So, I just closed it, and kept typing. Then, a warning message popped up, and told me that some unauthorized program was trying to gain access to my PC. I got a little worried, but I needed to finish the articles, so I closed it again. I did have my firewall running, so it would block whatever it was. Then another said that my computer was at risk for becoming infected, and prompted me to do a scan. I ran it, and it listed 31 infected files. I tried to remove them, but the software kept asking me to enter my license key.

I tried to do a Google search, hoping I find some information about this key I'm supposed to have, but I kept getting an error page. IE6 was blocking me from the Internet because my PC was "at risk" for being infected. I spent the rest of the day trying to get past that error page but never did. I put the computer to sleep, and the next morning, things seemed to be in working order again. I opened a browser and was taken straight to my homepage. I felt relieved because I still had a little time to meet my deadlines. Then, a warning message popped up. It said that my sensitive data was at risk, and malicious spyware might be embedding itself into my system. I needed to get my license key, so I did a quick search for "XP Home Security 2011."

Man, I wish I hadn't done that. The computer went haywire, then the screen blanked out, and it shut down. My stomach turned into a big knot because I knew at that point that my computer had a virus. I had two orders due on Monday, and another on Tuesday, so I needed this thing to work. I powered it back on, but it wouldn't load past the welcome screen. I tried this several times, but it just hung there. I went through this crap all day and got no where.

So, Monday morning comes. I hit the power button, and the PC booted up just fine. My desktop loaded, but it was empty. I had only a shortcut to the Recycle Bin and one for IE6. My programs were gone. My files...gone. I tried to access the Internet, but couldn't get past that error page. And then, that dumb security message popped up again. This time, it told me that my computer had been compromised and that I needed to buy a license to prevent further damage. I was like, "WTF?" I thought about it for a minute, and I wondered whether this thing was really telling me what was happening the whole time even though it's the actual virus itself. Like, how ironic is that?

Fast forward to late Thursday evening, and I've got a working computer again. I called this PC repair guy that I tried to sell a website a couple of weeks ago, and he agreed to help me out. He told me that he'd be back in town Thursday afternoon, and that he'd get the PC cleaned up before the night was out (which he did). It doesn't end there, though.

I lost nearly a week of productivity behind that stupid virus. And I had three outstanding orders, and three probably very disgruntled clients. I contacted everyone to let them know what had happened, and proceeded to finish up their articles. Two of my clients were really cool about the situation, so I was happy about that. I had to call the last guy, though, as I didn't get a response to my email. He was really pissed; he told me that I'd be online on the Warrior Forum, and basically said that I was trying to scam him. He told me he didn't want the articles nor did he want a refund, so that left me a bit baffled.

I was also concerned because he said he saw me online, although my computer had been out of commission since Saturday afternoon. I've got accounts across about eight or nine different forums; I tried to log in to a few of them including the one here at the Warrior Forum, and as I suspected, I couldn't get in. None of my passwords worked, and I couldn't do a reset because my email address wasn't recognized. This was really bad. I had a really pissed client, and my accounts were screwed. I opened a bunch of support tickets, and explained what had happened.

So, then, I went ahead and completed my orders and sent them out. I got two positive responses Friday evening. I didn't hear back from the other guy, so I thought maybe he had a problem with the articles. I spent the whole night and next day rewriting every single article, adding as much extra content as I could. I sent the articles over again early Saturday night, and I still haven't heard anything back. I offered him a refund and the articles for free on top of that, but no word as of yet.

I did get my accounts back (which is a relief), and I now have Kaspersky and Malwarebytes installed to prevent something like this from happening again. But, I still haven't heard back from the last guy who was so ticked off at me. I'm thinking that I should maybe write up another batch of articles to send over about some topics related to his niche. What do you guys think?