Most people who have used a computer have heard of viruses, worms and trojans. They come in many forms, some fairly benign some intentionally destructive. In short a virus is a self replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. Worms copy themselves from machine to machine over a network. They can replicate through a network at a very rapid rate.
Trojans do not replicate but usually are malicious in nature.
Virus symptoms
- Excessive network traffic/slow or no network connection
- The computer is running slower than normal, especially when opening a program
- Data files (such as Word or Excel) may be corrupt, missing or are not in their correct format
- Folders are suddenly missing or encounter errors
- Shortcuts no longer work
- Programs unexpectedly start or quit
- Friends receive email messages from you when you know you didn’t send any messages
- Browser homepage and URL’s are redirected
- Your computer freezes frequently or encounters errors
- You are unable to load the operating system
- You are locked out of your system (FBI MoneyPak virus)
- Your hard drive is accessed too often (the hard drive activity light flashes rapidly and constantly) even when the computer is idle
- Excessive memory usage
These are some of the potential symptoms.
Where does a virus come from?
Unless your computer is completely isolated from the outside world, computer viruses can be introduced into your computer from any number of sources:
- Via an internet connection:
- Emails
- Web browsing
- Downloading/sharing files
- Unsecure network
- Inserting compromised optical media and USB/external drives
- Programs
- Cracks
With today’s modern world of computer interconnectivity, viruses are sometimes unavoidable despite our best efforts.
Is there a doctor in the house?
NC Computer Tech doesn’t want you to lose data or settings. We will attempt to neutralize your virus utilizing every technological solution, and we can backup your data. NC Computer Tech will not give your system back until it’s 100% clean.
