Cyber-attacks, phishing emails & Viruses are at an all time high. Because of the amount of them, there’s also been an increase in successful attacks. It’s possible you may be infected with malware and may not even know it.
The symptoms of an infected PC can often be minuscule, and have many different purposes. It could be Spyware (which monitor your PC for sensitive information), it could be Ransomware, or it could be to involve your device in a DDoS attack.
10 Signs your PC is infected with Malware
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Website redirects.
You frequently find that you are being sent to a different web page than the one you are trying to reach.
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New homepage or toolbars.
You have a different homepage on your internet browser than what you set. There may also be new toolbars below your browser window that you haven’t installed.
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You’re getting a lot of popups.
Whether this is on the internet or not.
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Slow Computer.
If you aren’t running lots of programs at once, have plenty of space and memory, but your PC is suspiciously slow, it could be infected.
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Battery life drains quickly.
If you are using a Laptop, phone or tablet, and not running lots of programs at once.
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You’ve recently opened a dodgy attachment in a phishing email.
If you open an attachment or click a link in an email from a source you don’t trust (or a source that isn’t authentic) then you could be downloading malware onto your device.
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Your friends tell you that they are receiving strange messages from you.
If your emails are infected with malware it can take control of your emails and make you send malicious emails out to all your contacts.
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You are seeing new unusual error messages you haven’t seen before.
Of course, you should always talk to your IT provider about this.
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When you turn on your PC, unusual messages or programs start automatically that you are not used to.
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You get ransom demands.
If your PC is locked and asks you for money to unlock your PC, you have ransomware.
If you relate to any of these symptoms get in touch with your IT provider as soon as possible. If you do not have an IT provider, we would be able to investigate further for you. Call us on 01273 806211.
Written by Matt Batchelor Senior Helpdesk Technician
