Is My Computer Infected?

Is My Computer Infected?

How can you tell if your computer has a virus? There are warning signs that your computer may be infected with a virus. For minor viruses, you may encounter strange messages, images, noises or music on your computer. An infected computer may have less memory available, or you may notice name changes. A computer infected with a virus may be missing programs, or files may malfunction. If you encounter any of these characteristics on your computer, you are most likely experiencing an attack from a virus.

Is there any hope? How can you protect your computer from viruses? If you do not have any virus software on your computer now, consider installing some soon. Be sure to update your anti-virus software regularly; this way you’ll be protected from new viruses that crop up. If you don't have protection, do some research to help you find the best antivirus software.

Use your software to scan for viruses weekly. Don’t open emails from unknown sources, and be cautious when opening attachments—even attachments from people you trust. Hyper vigilance requires you to contact the sender and confirm the attachment before you open it, but this is too much. Just be aware. It Aunt Gertrude typically includes a newly, well-written letter with the jokes she sends, and this attachment email from her comes with: “Open this now, baby!” alarm bells should go off. Don’t open it.

Constantly back up your data in case a virus attacks your hard drive and you need to reformat. Better yet, set up your computer to automatically back up your data weekly so that you don’t have to worry about this chore.

What Should I do if I have a Virus?

What do I do if I find out that I have a virus on my computer? Know that it’s not the end of the world. As a courtesy, contact everyone (by phone, preferably) you have been connected by email to warn them possible exposure to the virus right away.

Clean your computer with anti-virus software. If your computer is still not functioning and you have data you are concerned about recovering, consider hiring a trusted expert. Often data can be successfully extracted from an injured hard drive, but the process is complex and will involve another computer, special software, and a technician with a lot of experience in data recovery.

As a last resort, reformat your hard drive, even if it means destroying all of the information located there. Reinstall the software and data using your backup files.