As a computer user, you are well aware that computers can be ‘temperamental’ at times. It will be working fine one minute and then suddenly slow down, glitch, sputter or crash, and then be working fine again a few minutes later.
Here are five of the most common symptoms of computer viruses. If your computer shows one or more of these, you are probably infected.
1. POP-UP ADS
Running into a pop-up ad while you are surfing used to be a serious annoyance,
but modern browsers include popup protection to keep these annoyances away on most sties. If you are still seeing regular pop-ups on more than one site, it could just be a badly configured browser.
However, if pop-ups are coming at you when your browser is not even open, it is likely you have a virus. This is especially true if the pop-ups advertise some magic cure-all to your “virus woes” If you are bombarded with pop-up ads, first run a scan with anti-spyware software to double-check. I like SpyBot Search & Destroy because it digs deep into your settings to find any problems spyware
has left behind.
2. MESSAGES YOU DID NOT SEND
Most viruses have one goal in mind once they infect your computer: to spread the virus as far as possible. An easy way to do that is to send messages to as many of your friends as possible in hopes they will get infected, too.
These messages can show up anywhere. The virus might try to send out spam through your email account. It could take control of your Facebook or Twitter and send out spam, too. In almost all cases, it will include a link or attachment
to the virus somewhere in the post. Keep an eye on your email’s “sent” folder and on your social network posts. If you notice emails and posts that you do not remember sending or posting, it is likely that you have a virus.
3. YOU ARE LOCKED OUT OF YOUR COMPUTER
You are surfing the Web when suddenly a scary message appears saying you are locked out of your computer. It may claim to be from law enforcement or an anonymous blackmailer. Either way, the program is lying. What is really happening is that a virus is blocking important programs from running, or even encrypting your files so you cannot get to them. The scam is trying to make you pony up some cash to get your computer back. This kind of virus is commonly called “ransomware.”
4. PROGRAMS AND TOOLS ARE OUT OF REACH
More often than not, a computer user will rely on one simple command when their computer starts misbehaving: Ctrl + Alt + Del. The “three-finger salute” opens up Task Manager, which can tell you so much about your computer.
Sometimes, however, you will hit this keyboard shortcut and nothing happens. You might get a random error message, too. This is a dead giveaway that a virus is messing with your computer. It is stop stopping Task Manager so you cannot see that it is eating your system resources or shut it down.
A virus might block any number of programs or utilities to try to protect itself. This is where deep-cleaning anti-malware software like Malwarebytes will shine. It goes much deeper than most anti-virus software to clean out your computer. Plus, it has a feature that helps it get around viruses that block popular anti-virus programs from running.
5. YOU ARE NOT SEEING ANY SYMPTOMS AT ALL
No news is not always good news when it comes to viruses. Powerful viruses can hide deep in your computer without raising any red flags. They will just go about their business without you even knowing they are there.
Just because you do not notice them does not mean they are not dangerous, though. They could be snagging your passwords, sensitive files or other vital information from your computer. The virus could be using your computer to spread to other computers or even attack banks and other organizations.
The only clue in this case might be a slower Internet connection since the virus
is using it to launch Internet attacks. Your computer’s processor and memory
could also be running really high for no good reason. I do know some people who do not bother installing security software because their computer does not seem to have a problem. If that is you, let me tell you that you probably do have a virus.
Every computer user, even Mac users, needs security software running at all times. Fortunately, security does not have to cost you much.
