Once you get a computer virus you can usually handle the problem. But you may not even know your computer has been infected — and, in the interim, this virus can create numerous security and privacy problems for you without your knowledge. Knowing the signs to look out for is key to solving the problem quickly and efficiently.
“Most viruses are made with a specific purpose, that can range from damaging os, stealing sensitive information to driving traffic for a specific website,” says Tech Expert Abhishek Anand, co-founder of Mutant Mail. Anand offers four surprising signs your computer may have a virus.
Surprise ads on your computer
Seeing ads on your browser in places they were not before is one major sign your computer may have been infected with a virus.
“These kinds of viruses have become quite common nowadays and come bundled with many software downloads,” Anand says. “They inject overlay popup ads on all your browsers, on multiple websites.”
Frequent blue screen on your Windows system
“BSOD (or Blue Screen of Death) is not a new term for windows systems,” Anand says. “But frequent BSOD screens can be a result of a virus attack on your operating system.
The reason being they attempt to make changes to core files of a windows file system, which results in BSOD.”
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Hard disk making sound
If your hard disk is suddenly making a lot of noise, and its performance is maxing out continuously, a virus may be the culprit.
“Some viruses are designed to duplicate themself at a rapid pace, either to make their removal impossible or to crash the host operating system,” Anand says.
Unexplained ram usage
Can you suddenly not account for a sizable chunk of memory usage on your operating system?
“Some viruses are capable of masking themself from task/program manager and don't show up as a running process,” Anand says. “Fortunately, their memory usage is still tracked in the task/program manager, which leads to unexplained memory usage.”
If you’ve noticed these signs on your computer, don’t wait: the sooner you act, the sooner you can help rid your computer of a virus that could have a negative impact on your data and privacy.
