Malware is malicious software that can infect your computer, and then destroy your files, steal your personal information, and do a lot of damage to your device, privacy and even finances. Luckily, there are ways to know and get rid of an IOS, Android or Windows virus. How can you know that your computer has been infected?
- Pop-up windows appear suddenly and unexpectedly. On-screen ads popping-up from nowhere are typical for infected computers – remember to never click on them, even if they say that your computer has been infected, and never ever send any money to fix it.
- It starts up slower and its overall performance is worse. The first thing to do is check if it isn’t due to the lack of RAM memory or hard disk space. If it isn’t, you may have a virus.
- The hard drive acts suspicious. If it’s constantly running loud, especially if you’re not doing anything, it may mean that it’s infected.
- You suddenly lack storage space. That’s how a virus tries to make your computer unusable.
- You can’t find files that you’re sure you didn’t delete.
- You experience clashes and get error messages. For example, programs are starting and closing automatically, system freezes or shuts down without any reason, you get weird messages – it’s never a good sign.
- Your internet connection is super active even if you’re not using it.
- Your email got hijacked. If your friends get suspicious messages from you with links, a virus is probably trying to spread on other devices.
- Something weird is happening to your browser – homepage changes, you get redirected to unknown websites, etc.
- Your security is under attack and you can’t install or open an anti-virus or a firewall.
To know more about how to protect yourself from online threats, check out this infographic:
