Malware is short for Malicious Software. Computer viruses are part of the Malware classification and be really be any software designed to damaged or disrupt computer systems, networks, files and programs.
Over the years Malware has continued to change and do a lot more than damage your system.
Now we have a whole lot of different players being sent all over the internet, from Spyware which spies on you, Adware which throws a bunch of Ads on your screen while your doing something and Ransomware which holds your system to ransom until you pay up.
If your computer is showing any of the below signs or actions, you could have Malware on your system.
Unexpected System Crashes
Your computer just turning off without warning could be a sign your computer has a virus or Malicious software on it.
Whether it be while you are using a particular program, or your computer is just sitting idle and you come back to it and it has shut down, you could have a virus.
Most viruses have an objective so it is much more likely the computer has shutdown because it is damaged at the software operating system level, and is unable to run properly anymore.
Inability to Click on Icons or Open Programs
Your icons are the shortcuts for your programs, usually a logo for a particular program on your desktop.
If you are unable to click on them, nothing happens when you do or you are unable to open other parts of your computer like the system settings or control panel, it could be a sign you have malicious software on your computer or laptop.
You don’t want to risk this spreading all over your computer or into a backup, so close your computer down straight away.
Its hard to know how long a virus has been on your system so if you run regular antivirus scans its always a good idea to scan your backups as well.
Your Contacts are Getting Weird eMails from You
Computer Worm Viruses are computer viruses which spread out by using your email client.
It attaches itself to an email, and then access your contact list to spread out to your contacts, and then do the same to your fiends and recipients. This is how you probably received the email and viruses int he first place.
If you are getting angry calls from friends and contacts it would be a very good idea to disconnect your email service or program temporarily until you have sorted the problem out to minimize the damage you could be doing to friends of yours.
New Icons on Desktop
If you are seeing new icons on your desktop, or short cuts to new programs you didn’t install, there is a very good chance the programs are viruses or related to some kind of viruses suite.
These types of things get on your computer by tricking you into installing them yourself.
An example would be, you go to a free media website where you can watch movies for free and to be able to do that when you click play the website asks you to download some kind of compatible software, application or plugin to watch the movie and you accept.
Unknowingly installing a program on your computer which is malicious in nature and bundled with other programs which install without you allowing.
Popups Everywhere
Popups are not computer viruses, in fact popups are very necessary for computer programs and websites to run and function in a way required for the task.
However, criminals and malicious virus and software creators use them deviously with viruses to do all sorts of annoying things on your computer with the purpose of getting your attention.
It would be pointless to create a popup no body sees, so they are generally used for adware *(advertising software) using in your web browser so when you are on the internet and on a website, their popups will appear on your screen and try and convince you to click on them and go where they want you.
This could be to a site to tell you something or to a page which has other infections criminals want to put on your computer.
Antivirus Disabled
Your computer antivirus is a very important part of your computer.
Windows 10 comes with Windows Antivirus installed with it, but a lot of people still use 3rd party applications which come with a lot of great features.
Antivirus programs are not 100% effective in protecting your computer from malware like, viruses, spyware and ransomware, however you would probably be a lot worse off without it.
One sign your computer might be infected with Malware is, your anti virus program keeps turning off, or your computer is giving you notifications your antivirus has stopped working.
Many viruses will infect and halt your antivirus program and inhibit them from doing their job properly or starting correct.
New Antivirus Appeared
Another sign your computer might be infected with Malware is when you see a completely new antivirus appear on your computer which you did not install or intent to.
Most of these times these fake antivirus programs which are usually viruses or Malware themselves will use official names with the Words “Windows” or “Microsoft” in them and sometimes a year date to look more legitimate.
These fake antivirus programs are very hard to remove and usually have tentacles installed into other parts of your computer.
They can slow down your computer significantly, take control of your screen, stop your computer from starting up properly, bombard you with advertisements and popups and also spy on you.
They may also disable your existing antivirus program you installed prior to the fake appearing.
Home Page in Web Browser Changed
Your web browser is the program you use to access websites. The main players in the web browser field are Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox.
The first page when you open these applications is considered your web browsers homepage. Most of these programs have pre-installed home page addresses usually corresponding to each particulars agenda.
However, you can change the home page of each of these browsers manually to suit your requirements and to open the pages you use and designate.
If one day you open your web browser and a new page you didn’t add opens first, you might have Malware on your computer.
Many viruses will want you to go to the websites and destinations of their choosing. They can do this by adding their home page first in your web browser on hope you go to that site first and for whatever other agendas they have in mind.
Error Messages When Starting Up
This is a really broad example. There can be many things which halt, alter or restrict your computer from starting up or starting properly.
However, it is not uncommon for computer viruses to damage parts of the operating system and computer responsible for it to start up.
Whether they do this intentionally or it is just a result of the computers software being damaged from the viruses, the inability to start your computer properly with a bunch of error messages showing when you do, could very well be viruses related.
Your computers follows a list of steps in a process to start your computer. When one of these steps is missing your computer might throw an error message while looking for the next step.
If you are getting error messages on your computer when it starts up, note them down as they could hold the key to repairing your computer or laptop.
Web Traffic Very Slow
Your web traffic is basically your internet usage. This can be anything from accessing a web site in your web browser, reading email in your email client, listening to music through a streaming service, or watching a movie online.
Your web traffic comes in as a download and out as uploading.
Every time you use the internet you are transferring data and we call this internet web traffic or network traffic.
Some viruses either intentionally restrict your web traffic to be a nuisance, or do it as a side effect of spying or accessing your computer.
A lot of viruses want to steal your data, information or files. They need to do this over the internet and you mind find your usage has gone up or your web traffic is very slow when you have a viruses which is also doing something or using your internet at the same time.
If you go to another web device and use the same network and it is running much faster, it might only be the one particular laptop, notebook or computer which is infected and needs to be quarantined.
About Us
Townsville computer repairs Nerds have been operating and helping the people of Townsville since 1997.
We don’t claim to have seen everything but we have seen a lot of computer viruses and we see and work on computer with new ones every single day.
Townsville computer repairs Nerds also offer a 100% free no obligation diagnosis and quote. If you do not accept our quote the diagnosis sis still free.
