November Quick Tip

By Scott Babcock

Signs of viruses: Are you infected?

After you open and run an infected program or attachment on your computer, you might not realize that you've introduced a virus until you notice something isn't quite right.

Here are a few primary indicators that your computer might be infected:

• Your computer runs more slowly than normal
• Your computer stops responding or locks up often
• Your computer crashes and restarts every few minutes
• Your computer restarts on its own and then fails to run normally
• Applications on your computer don't work correctly
• Disks or disk drives are inaccessible
• You can't print correctly
• You see unusual error messages
• You see distorted menus and dialog boxes

These are common signs of infection—but they might also indicate hardware or software problems that have nothing to do with a virus. Unless you install industry-standard and up-to-date antivirus software on your computer, there is no way to be certain if your computer is infected with a virus or not.

Resources

• “Signs of viruses: Are you infected?" Signs of viruses: Are you infected?. 20 September 2006. Microsoft Corporation. 16 October 2007. < http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/indicators.mspx >.

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