9 Signs of Viruses and Malware
We all hate viruses,malwares, spywares and all the malicious software on the internet. But, how do we know if our PC has it? The most straight-forward way would be installing an Antivirus software. But there are more ways.
1)Slow Down of PCs
Viruses and Malware’s first initiate is to slow down PC. They make them very sluggish by using precious system resources.
2)Unexpected Messages
Unexpected messages pop up anytime, with you having no idea what they are about or how they got to your PC. Some messages pop out giving a timer for shutdown. The way to counter them is to type “shutdown –a”(without quotes) in the Command Prompt and hitting enter.
3)Problems in Browsing
Internet browsing related problems include the unauthorized change in your browser’s homepage. Or going to a site redirects you to a fake site or phishing page.
4)Problem Accessing Windows features
These symptoms include not being able to access Windows Task Manager or Registry Editor. Also, hidden files may not show even if you set them to show.
5)Toolbars
One of the biggest and worst part of malware are toolbars. Toolbars decrease your browsing are without any use, they also have the ability to steal your personal information and passwords etc.
6)Unfamiliar Process running
Going to the ‘Processes’ Tab in Windows Task manager, you might see some or many unfamiliar applications running under your user account. These are probably malware.
7)Unfamiliar Programs in ‘Program and features’
Other signs include finding software you doing remember installing in the ‘Program and features’ or ‘Add or Remove Programs’. You might also see unfamiliar programs in the Start menu.
8)Malfunction of Antivirus
Your system’s antivirus’ improper behavior usually a sign of malware or a virus. Malware try to disable antiviruses so that they can operate more freely without any hindrances.
9)Flashing screen or change in wallpaper
While using the computer and for no reason at all your computer screen starts to flash(not considering hardware fault), then this is a strong sign that a virus lurks in your system. Also, change of wallpapers, usually to solid colors or webpages also points to the existence of viruses on your computer system.
How to prevent your PC from Virus?
On Techtip, we have written many articles about PC security, I don’t feel there is any need to write it here again, I’ll just mention the links of our previous articles about PC security. Here is a list of Free Antivirus which we believe are better to save a Computer from a virus.
Apart from downloading these free anti virus, you can follow few simple steps to keep away from PC viruses.
