As usual, Friendly Computers reminds you to regularly update your antivirus and operating system software to avoid getting viruses and other malware. In addition, we found a great article outlining the signs to look for to determine if your computer is infected with a virus. Read more below…
Do you think you may have a virus? The following are some ways you can tell you may have a virus
- Your Anti-virus software won't come up when you try to start it.
- You get a lot of returned e-mails that you did not send. NOTE: this might also be spoofing, meaning someone else is infected and is giving out your address.
- You get e-mails back letting you know you have a virus. This could also be spoofing If there are attachments, do not click on them or open them. Delete the messages immediately.
- Your computer is unusually slow, or exhibiting strange behavior. Spyware will also commonly cause these symtoms.
If your computer does have a virus, you should purchase anti virus software and install it on your computer if you do not have any. You can find it at places like most retail outlets, and allcomputer stores. In the meantime, you can immediately do a free virus scan by simply typing "free virus scan" into your favorite search engine. You can also instantly purchase the software at various sites such as Free AVG, Norton AntiVirus and Macafee. Check with your ISP, as they may offer free virus/security protection. Comcast for instance offers Macafee for free to all her customers.
- If you have anti-virus software make sure, it is updated regularly. In fact, most programs have an option to perform automatic updates.
- The best way to keep a virus from spreading through your computer and to remove it is to boot the computer into safe mode, by hitting the boot menu key at startup (usually F8)
- If you cannot get it to remove a, send or take it in to a computer repair shop and have them clean it out.
