Computer Virus Symptoms

There are a few distinct symptoms that can help one in identifying harmful and potentially dangerous viruses from infecting one's computer. Viruses come in many different forms and modes, and it gets very hard to regulate each and every application on our machines.

As a result, all our machines are susceptible to an attack from a computer virus at some point or the other, and sometimes even the very best antivirus software can overlook their presence. Recognizing some common symptoms can give us a head start in our battle against them.

A computer virus is a very small-sized program that has the ability to propagate from one machine to another, and then disrupt the working and the functionality of the infected machine.

It is important to identify their presence as soon as possible or, it can lead to a loss of important data, and even a system crash in some cases. There are many programs that can aid one in eliminating their risk.

The symptoms possess some distinct characteristics, and if your machine has been infected by one, it is very likely that you will see the effects immediately. The basic working of the computer will be greatly affected due to faulty performance, and you will be unable to perform many functions that you used to perform earlier with ease.

Some of the symptoms of infection are as follows.

• The computer is running considerably slower than normal for no apparent reason.
• The machine is crashing and restarting by itself after every few minutes.
• The applications and the programs on the machine are not working correctly, or are not responding to any commands.

• The machine is not responding in general, and everything is simply frozen.
• There are error messages popping out on a regular basis.
• Your files and folders are getting deleted automatically.

• Your disks and drives are not working properly.
• There are unknown and uninstalled icons on your desktop suddenly.
• The antivirus software that you have is not working properly, or it has been disabled.

• You are unable to install a new antivirus program on your computer.
• Printouts that you take are faulty and incorrect.
• There are unexpected and unknown noises and sounds that come out on their own.

• Your programs and applications have disappeared from the machine without you intentionally deleting them.
• New windows keep opening up at an alarming rate.

The most annoying aspect of these is that it can crop up at any time, and once it comes, it can affect any part of your machine. It can disable many important applications and programs, and can even corrupt physical hardware on your machine.

As a result of these symptoms, the workability of a machine gets seriously disabled, and it becomes impossible to perform any task at all.

Different types of computer viruses produce different results on our machines, and it pays to learn how to recognize them. Not halting their progress as soon as they are detected can have dire consequences for a machine.

Here are some commonly found viruses.

• Boot viruses-Michelangelo, Stone virus, Form, Disk killer
• Polymorphic viruses-Cascade, Proud, Evil, Virus 101, Phoenix, Stimulate, Involuntary
• Multipartite viruses-Tequila, Invader, Flip
• Program viruses-Cascade, Sunday
• Stealth viruses-Frodo, Joshi, Whale
• Macro viruses- Word concept, Nuclear, DMV
• ActiveX and JAVA viruses

The most common source of viruses are attachments that accompany emails. You must never open an email from an unknown source just because the subject sounds interesting.

If you are expecting an email from a party that is not on your contacts list, ensure that you know their email address beforehand. Sometimes emails from known parties can also lead to problems on your machine. Be extremely cautious while opening emails with attachments with them to avoid this situation altogether.

If you know that a virus has infected your computer, you need to take some corrective measures immediately. Update your anti-virus software as soon as possible and then run it. Make sure that you always have the latest version installed on your computer, as new viruses are launched almost everyday.

Constantly update your anti-spyware software through the Internet. In order to prevent your computer from showing such signs, keep the inbuilt firewall switched on at all times. The idea is to get as much protection as possible, as you never know when and in what form a potential virus can attack your computer.

At the end of the day, there are 2 things you can do. Firstly, you must get as much protection and computer security as possible and keep all your programs and system defenses updated.

And secondly, you must act quickly in case you detect the presence of any of the aforementioned symptoms on your machine. Failure to do so could result in you losing a lot of precious data and information.