The Top 7 Indicators Your Computer Is Infected With a Virus

Does your PC have a virus? Don't know how to get rid of viruses? There are different indicators that give evidence that your operating system may have significant virus infections like poor system performance, internet browser redirection and suspicious email activity. Viruses can open doors to a world absolutely no person hopes to experience and it is important to have an anti-virus program currently present on the OS. Let's look at various indications which allow us to recognize a potential virus infection in the absence of an anti-virus.

1) Unresponsive Functions - If opening up selected features presents no response, it clearly signifies there is a spyware infection that hinders the functioning of software in normal mode. The longer a spyware or virus infects the system, the more applications it will eventually disable and make unresponsive until all programs stop executing.

2) Illegal Bookmarks and Unknown Links - The addition of bookmarks, favorites, and links that start to appear in your internet browser is also a big indicator that spyware has infected your Computer. The spyware will make unfamiliar and unknown links in the browser's favorites and bookmarks options, clicking one of these triggers larger more severe problems. It is recommended then to run an anti-virus, to identify the threat right away.

3) Suspicious Toolbars - One more integration of malware in your web browser is that of toolbars. You may be aware of Yahoo, Google, and MSN toolbars that actually help, but the inclusion of certain suspicious toolbars in the internet browser is a warning that some malware is recording your web history and transferring this information somewhere else.

4) Email Bombs - These email bombs are one of the final warning signs that malware has taken over the Operating system. Lots (and I mean lots) of unrelated emails and explicit material in your inbox, suggests that the system is severely infected and requires a scan and cleanup. This actually works both ways; the emails not only enter into your inbox but in addition send out automatically to all of your email contacts so it's encouraged to check your sent emails in these cases.

5) Bogus Warning Messages - When infected, the operating system starts displaying strange and bogus warning messages saying that the PC is infected with spyware and it recommends using a particular software that will clean the PC of the infection. However, this anti-virus software is a trick which furthers the problem with additional spyware to steal your personal data. None of these offers should be followed and should be responded by disconnecting the PC from the web and running an immediate scan ideally with an updated version of an anti-virus program. This symptom is serious and delaying cleaning your computer at this point commonly results in even more serious issues.

6) Internet browser Redirection & Pop-ups - A likely sign that the PC is infected is the internet browser being redirected to an unrelated web page that essentially wants you to download some software program or participate in a survey. When you type in a URL or go to a search engine, the exact same site will pop up regardless of what you type in. Pop-ups have a similar resulting effect. You might have proper browsing, but before long the web browser opens a pop-up window that has explicit or unrelated material that you never requested or wished to open. Disconnect yourself from the net and run a thorough scan. NEVER click on any of the pop-ups, because it will only make the spyware threat escalate.

7) Slow System Performance - The most apparent problem that proves your system is infected is the slow performance of the OS; software programs open slower and run slower too. Opening a Word document could take 4 to 5 minutes and such, is a definite sign that the PC is infected.


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