Signs of a Computer Virus

Your computer isn’t acting the way it’s supposed to act. Suspicious symptoms sour your computing experience. An inordinate amount of pop-ups appear on your screen. Friends are telling you to stop sending them strange emails with weird attachments. An odd antivirus software application warns of either a fake computer virus or some other impending doom. You probably have a computer virus.

There are any number of digital diseases a computer can get online, all with different symptoms and consequences. Many forms of malware work stealthily, showing few signs that there is any problem with a machine. Secretly, they work their digital devilry. Often, though, there is at least one sign that your computer is infected. Here are a few signs that your computer may be under the spell of a computer virus .

Like a real virus, a computer virus spreads itself by infecting machines with a small piece of code. A computer virus might corrupt or delete data on a hard drive, replicate itself indefinitely or steal information to send back to the originating hacker. Computer viruses are most commonly transmitted through email attachments, but they can also be downloaded via malicious URLs or transferred from an infected device (like a USB flash drive). While these symptoms can be the result of other system malfunctions, a computer virus can cause one or several of the following problems:

• Windows, or any other operating system, does not start.
• Start up takes longer than usual.
• Your computer runs slowly.
• Software, devices or sounds launch automatically. For example, a CD tray opens and closes without being directed to do so.
• The computer freezes, and files and folders disappear or will not open. This is often a symptom of a virus that has corrupted the actual hardware.
• Antivirus software and websites, such as Kaspersky or BitDefender, become inaccessible. This often means the virus has changed the system in such a way that it has blocked these applications from securing your computer. Sometimes, a computer virus can prevent you from even accessing an antivirus website.
• You cannot start Windows Task Manager.
• Individuals in your address book complain of strange emails coming from your email address. This can mean that the virus has replicated and sent copies of itself to the contacts in your address book.
• Your internet browser’s homepage has changed.
• Your internet connection is slow.
• New software is installed on your system.
• You receive unusual error messages.
• Applications become inoperable.
• Security updates for your operating system or antivirus software cause the system to crash.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, your computer may be infected by malware in the form of a computer virus, a Trojan or spyware. For a Windows-based PC, Microsoft offers a number of security updates and applications to check your computer. The Microsoft Safety Scanner, for example, is free and provides on-demand virus scanning and removal. However, this does not serve as a replacement for an up-to-date antivirus application and security suite.

Check out our reviews of our TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award Winner for antivirus software, BitDefender Antivirus Plus 2012, or our TopTenREVIEWS Silver Award Winner Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 for the latest in digital defense technology.

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