Some symptoms that suggest you have virus on your pc

New and potentially devastating viruses and spyware/adware are being written every day. With more and more of us performing everyday tasks such as online shopping and banking we are increasingly at risk from the effects of viruses and spyware/adware. If you have been running a PC on the Internet without any virus or adware/spyware protection there's a good chance that your computer is already infected. Over 90% of home and business computers already have some kind of spyware infection!

There is usually no simple way to know when you have a virus. Some viruses exhibit behaviour that tell you immediately that they are on your system, but so many viruses mimic other system problems.

Spyware/Adware Symptoms - Spyware, trojans and other pests contact other computers, and each of them are program of its own, therefore they use system resources such as CPU resources, memory and an Internet connection. There are some symptoms that would suggest you have a possible spyware/adware/trojan infection on your PC

• Slow Computer

There are several reasons your computer may be running slow, but if you use your PC regularly , you're familiar with its noises, hang-ups and how it reacts. A sudden change in how your computer is running such as extreme slowness could be a sign of spyware or adware.

• E-Mail Symptoms

If you're getting a lot of bounced back mail and see evidence of e-mails being sent without your knowledge, then it's possible that trojan spamware existing on your computer. Spamware is a trojan that can turn your computer into a spam gateway and create problems for many computer users, especially if a virus is sent. Even if your computer is not being used to send spam, trojans can steal a copy of your e-mail address book and send it back to a spammer.

• Web Browser (Internet explorer, Firefox etc) Symptoms

One of the oldest and most common spyware tricks is to automatically change your Web browser's default or start-up homepage - the page that first appears when you start your browser or click the "home" button.

An unwanted strange looking search site opens, whenever you perform a search.

You are unable to stop the excessive popup windows that appears from nowhere.

Strange and unexpected toolbars appear in your web browser and you don't know how it got there.

When you type any URL in web browser's address bar, the typing speed turns extremely slow. Keyboard loggers can capture passwords and user names, so if the bank, brokerage or credit card accounts you access online appear to have been tampered with, your computer may be a place to start looking for clues. User names and passwords to e-mail and Web-based applications are also vulnerable.

• Antivirus Programs/Firewall symptoms

You realize that your firewall and antivirus programs are frequently turned off without your knowledge

The symptoms above are just the small list that one or more Viruses/trojans/spyware might be running on your PC.  If you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, or any other unexpected behaviour on your PC, perform a Virus/Spyware check immediately. Make sure your Antivirus Program is up to date. If you do not have an Internet Security Suite installed on your PC, Click here to get Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite and start benefiting from its protection power.

If you are not able to do a virus scan or unable to clean your PC which occurs in some instances, Purbeck Tech Centre are ready to perform an on-site PC Health check,  or at our workshop. Just give us a call.