How do you know if a virus has infected your computer?
Computer Virus?
Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.
~David Dixon, 1998
In an ideal world, your computer will have adequate security and you will avoid getting any form of virus, spyware, malware etc. However, we do not live in an ideal world, and there are times when something nasty could slip through and affect your computer or laptop. But how would you know if you’ve been infected?
The best way to answer this is to have a professional computer technician have a look at your IT, but there are warning signs that may mean you’ve been attacked.
If you can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, then it’s possible that your computer may have a virus.
- Does your computer freeze, lock up, or stop responding?
- Is your computer or laptop running slower than usual?
- Are you getting unexpected messages “popping up”, or programs starting automatically?
- Is your computer crashing or restarting of it’s own free will?
- Are there other applications that don’t seem to be working correctly, or that are unaccessible?
There may be reasons other than viruses why your computer isn’t running quite as it should, but if you have any suspicions you should get it checked out. After all, having a virus make your computing life a misery is one thing – but spreading it on could land you in even more trouble!
In addition, because there are no guarantees with computing, it is essential that you have an adequate backup procedure in place.
If you have any questions regarding this or any other computer issues, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us, and for the most up to date news, follow us on Twitter. We wish you as ever, continued happy and safe computing.
