Is Your Computer Infected?

Usually, you’ll know when things don’t feel right: Your computer suddenly starts acting up or becomes sluggish - slow to respond to commands, load web pages and open documents. This could be age – if your computer is five to eight years old, it may just be showing its wear and tear. It may be that your RAM (Random Access Memory) is still at the old standard of 4GB, which doesn’t really cut it anymore because modern programs eat a lot of memory.

It may also be a malware/virus infection. If it’s a company computer, there is cause for concern, but not alarm. Notify your IT support department or outsourced Managed IT Services to run a check and remove the malware.

What if you’re a consumer with problems on your home computer, without an IT team behind you? In that case, a little alarm would be a sensible thing. You can try running Windows Defender, but that app offers only basic security protection and may not find a sophisticated virus. If you have someone that works on your computer, call them ASAP. If not, you are stuck with using potentially bad IT by googling up questionable ‘IT Guys’ in your area.

How can I tell if my computer is infected?

Here are some signs that reliably point to an infection:

Runs slow and takes longer to boot

Not counting internet activities which can depend on the websites you visit, running slower than usual is a big red flag. Also, after you press the ‘ON’ button, does it take longer than usual to boot up and display your desktop? Longer to open a Word or Excel file? And then, do you wait longer when you type before the words appear in a document? These are definitely bad signs.

Maxed-out storage

This depends on the type of malware that’s infected your system - some copy files or create new data in the system which eats up your storage space. These files are hard to find – it’s not like they name themselves ‘virus’. If you do a file search, don’t just start deleting files in sensitive areas like your registry.

Unusual noises and hard drive activity

We’re all used to the sounds our computer makes, so any anomalies must be examined. An overly active hard drive will make noise on its own and may be because the virus is busy working. The computer may also produce noises you’ve never heard before. Anything unusual – beeping is the very worst sign – is cause for concern.

Suspicious email activity

Many hardworking viruses want to spread its message to as many people as it can, so it goes straight to your email address book. If colleagues or friends start asking about suspicious emails ‘you’ sent them, you can be sure that malware is doing it.

Error messages and crashes

Generally, apps should not just crash or start producing error messages on their own. It could be a problem with a recent update (happens frequently with Microsoft updates), but there’s a good chance that the virus has introduced a malicious code into your computer.

Strange browser performance

If the entire browser is sluggish no matter what site you visit, or if your home page has been redirected to a spam site indicates the presence of malware.

Pop-up windows

Most of us have had to deal with this nuisance. If you thought it was under control, but you suddenly start getting pop-up ads in spite of your pop-up blocker, this is a sure sign of infection. Even if the pop-up tells you a virus has been detected’ DO NOT CLICK ON THEM! They are not here to help you.

Missing files

For whatever reason, malware routinely takes, moves, or deletes files. If you worked on something yesterday and today you can’t find it even with a file search, something is very wrong.

Atypically high network activity

Once a virus gets in your computer it don’t just sit there – it has a purpose – copying and exfiltrating your data, grabbing your email to send scams to everyone in your address book, and so forth. They are busy little bees, and they work your system very hard.

Disabled security features

You may get a legitimate window that says your firewall is turned off, but you didn’t turn it off, and when you go to turn it on, you can’t. This is a form of virus self-preservation.

Unexpected reboots

This is probably the most aggravating sign of all. You are busy working, and your system shuts down and restarts on its own. This could be a hardware issue, as most modern computers are designed to shut down if internal components like the processor get too hot. This may go hand in hand with a strange noise – such as the fan going out. But many malwares cause this to happen as well.

If you see any of these signs and especially if you see several, alert your IT services provider.