How do you Know if your Computer has a Virus?

Question

We need our computers to accomplish so much for us so when they are not functioning at full capacity, it can hinder our lives. Our computers are also finicky, working fine one minute and then not functioning correctly the very next and sometimes this can signal a computer virus has infected your computer. Here are some common indications that your computer is not just having an off day and could be infected with a virus.

A sudden slow down when a resource heavy application is running could mean that a virus is infecting your machine via your memory.

A surge of pop-up ads while you are surfing the Internet can be a serious annoyance, especially if there are a lot of them at once. If you are bombarded with pop-ups, an anti-spyware software can determine if it is a virus or the webpage that you visited.

If people in your contact list or network begin contacting you about messages that they received from you that you did not write, you need to look at a few things. Keep an eye on your Sent folder on social networks, email programs, and any tools you send messages through. If you notice emails and posts that you didn’t send, it is likely that you have a virus.

Sometimes you may have a virus but have no signs of it because some computer viruses are dormant until the user boots the corrupted file. An anti-virus software is the only way to ensure your computer is running at full capacity and that no virus is lurking in the shadows.