Can You File a Lawsuit Over a Computer Virus or Spyware?

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was created to help protect both consumers and businesses from Internet crimes and advertising schemes and everything in between. The Internet has opened up a whole new world for criminals and mischief-makers, crimes of whom often victimize us unsuspecting computer users. If your computer has been infected with a virus or spyware, you might be able to file a lawsuit against the responsible party.

As soon as you suspect that your computer has been violated by spyware or viruses, unplug it and put it in a safe location. Any further action on your part to restore your computer to a safe point can damage your chances of finding out who might have sent the virus or installed the spyware. Next, you'll need to take your computer to a trusted repair shop for a full examination.

Depending on the severity of the virus or spyware, the law enforcement agency in your area might want their crime labs to look it over. Make sure you are sending your equipment to someone who won't be able to recover information; when in doubt, contact the authorities first and follow their instructions.

You do need to know that, in most cases, you can't file a lawsuit over a computer virus or spyware because you won't know definitively where it came from. You might be able to deduce that the e-mail you opened or the pop-up ad you saw just before your computer crashed was at fault, but unless you can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, your chances decrease considerably. However, an experienced technician might be able to recover the necessary data.

If you are at work when the virus or spyware is discovered, you might be on a shared network, which actually makes this easier. Your tech team might be able to trace the source of the problem through other computers after your terminal has been disabled. In this case, however, you wouldn't personally be able to file a lawsuit because it wasn't your computer or files that were damaged. Instead, your employer will have to file the suit.