There are a couple of ways in which you can tell if your computer has a virus. For a start, it will go much more slowly than usual and will seem ‘sticky’ when you go to perform a task. Being slow need not mean a virus. Other things cause slow speed; not enough memory or maybe your hard disk needs defragmenting. Or you could have spyware or adware rather than a virus.
Is your computer suddenly behaving erratically? Do odd messages suddenly appear on the screen? Maybe programs suddenly start up or close down without your permission. Or Windows might suddenly shut down for no apparent reason. All these are symptoms of a virus.
Another virus symptom is if you can hear your hard drive or modem working overtime. Or if the activity light on the modem or broadband is constantly lit, it could be a sign of a virus because virus emails are constantly replicating themselves. Watch the date/time stamps of your files because if a virus infects them, it mostly doesn’t restore the original time or date, but you’ll see the time and date of the infection. They may also appear bigger than you remember.
If your PC uploads files from the Internet without your approval, you should become very suspicious of a virus. If your Windows Registry Editor or your anti-virus programs don’t load, you can be almost sure of a virus. But only almost, since they can play up due to other problems.
If you try to view a file or folder and see only garbage, you can suspect a virus. A virus will destroy directory structure to make room to replicate itself. On your computer you will have File allocation Tables (FAT) that manage the data on computer disks. Data loss can happen if a virus attacks the FAT, which they are mostly designed to do.
Don’t have a panic attack if you get an email warning you of an alarming virus. Many of these so-called warnings are hoaxes. To check on whether it is a hoax, first go to Computer Virus Myths or F-Secure Hoax Warnings. To find out if there are any viruses currently circulating go to Symantec Anti-Virus Research Center or Network Associates Virus Library.
Never run a computer without having a firewall and anti-virus protection installed. You can get many good programs for free, so having protection doesn’t mean you need to pay heaps for peace of mind. But don’t just get any old firewall; choose a name that is reliable. Good virus software will remove any virus and clean your computer up as well.
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