Recognize a Computer Virus Infection

Computer viruses come in all shapes and sizes, but the one thing they have in common is that they are detrimental to your computer’s health. The effects may vary, but this wikiHow can show you how to spot the signs of a typical virus infection.

10 Second Summary

1. Check your hard drive activity.
2. Note how long it takes your computer to boot.
3. Make note of program crashes. If it happens often, it may be infected.
4. Look for random popups and disappearing files.
5. Check your web browser for irregular activity.
6. Try opening the Task Manager. A virus may prevent you from opening it.

Steps

Monitoring Your Computer’s Performance

  1. Check your hard drive activity. If you aren’t running any programs and your hard drive light is constantly turning on and off, or you can hear the hard drive working, you may have a virus that is working in the background.[1]
  2. Time how long it takes your computer to boot up. If you start noticing that your computer takes significantly more time than usual to start, a virus may be slowing down the startup process.
    • If you can’t log in to Windows, even with the correct log in information, a virus has most likely taken over the log in process.
  3. Look at your modem lights. If you don’t have any programs running and your modem transfer lights are constantly blinking, you may have a virus that is transmitting data over the network.

Keeping Tabs on Your Programs

  1. Make note of program crashes. If your regular programs start crashing more frequently, a virus may have infected the operating system. Programs that take longer to load, or that perform extra slow, are also indicative of this.
  2. Look for popups. If you have a virus infection, you may start seeing messages appear on your screen, even if no other programs are running. These can include advertisements, error messages, and more.
    • Viruses can also change your desktop wallpaper without permission. If you find yourself with new wallpaper that you didn’t select, chances are you have a virus.
  3. Be wary of granting programs firewall access. If you get constant messages about a program requesting access to your firewall, that program may be infected. You are receiving these messages because the program is attempting to send data through your router.
  4. Watch your files. Viruses often delete your files and folders, or changes are made without your consent. If your documents are disappearing, there is a good chance that you have a virus.[2]
  5. Check your web browser. Your web browser may open new home pages, or not allow you to close tabs. Popups may appear as soon as you open your browser. This is a good sign that your browser has been hijacked by a virus or spyware.
  6. Talk to your friends and colleagues. If you have a virus, your mailing list may be receiving messages that you did not send. These messages often contain more viruses or advertisements. If you hear that others are receiving these from you, you most likely have a virus.
  7. Try opening the Task Manager. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open the Windows Task Manager. If you don’t have access to this, a virus may be blocking you from accessing it.

Taking Care of a Virus Infection

  1. Run an antivirus program. You should always have an antivirus program installed and running on your computer. If you do not, there are several free programs available, such as AVG or Avast. Download and install one of these programs.
    • If you can’t access the internet because of the virus infection, you may need to download the program on another computer and then transfer it to the infected computer via thumb drive.
    • Many websites have banners that claim you are infected. These are almost always scams, and you should never click these warnings. Only trust your installed antivirus software to detect viruses on your system.
  2. Boot into Safe Mode. Your antivirus program will likely be much more effective if you run it in Safe Mode. To enter Safe Mode, reboot your computer and repeatedly strike the F8 key until the Advanced Boot menu appears. Select Safe Mode from the menu.
  3. Reinstall Windows. If all else fails, and you can’t remove the virus with an antivirus program, you may need to reinstall your copy of Windows and start from scratch. Backup all of your important data and then follow this guide for reinstalling your operating system.

Tips

  • If you're downloading something, and if the name is something like: Example: "IMG0018.exe", there are chances that the file you're downloading might be a virus.
  • DO NOT download email attachments unless you know exactly what it is, because that seems to be how this is primarily being transmitted.
  • Make sure your antivirus is up to date, avoid skeevy sites, and don't open random emails.
  • Back up your computer to something like an external hard-drive, or even an internal hard-drive that you just take out and stuff away somewhere for safekeeping.
  • Websites cannot identify any information about your computer files. If a website is claiming that your computer has malware, that's the website trying to trick you into downloading something malicious. Close it out (or force quit your web browser if you can't close the tab).

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/how-can-i-tell-if-my-computer-has-a-virus
  2. ↑ http://www.kaspersky.com/threats/what-is-a-computer-virus
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