Signs of Infection

There are a number of signs that a computer is infected. It is likely that your computer is infected if you notice that your computer is doing strange things, specifically:

Unexpected messages or images appear on your screen or you hear unusual sounds;

The CD-ROM tray opens and closes unexpectedly;

The computer arbitrarily opens a program without your assistance;

Warnings pop up on the screen about a program on your computer attempting to access the Internet, even though you initiated no such action;

There are also several typical traits of a virus infection through e-mail:

Friends or acquaintances tell you about messages from you that you never sent;

Your inbox houses a large number of messages without return addresses or headers.

Some other signs that suggest your computer could be infected:

Your computer freezes or crashes frequently;

Your computer loads programs slowly;

You cannot boot up the operating system;

Files and folders disappear or their contents are distorted;

The hard drive is frequently accessed (the light blinks);

Microsoft Internet Explorer freezes up or behaves unexpectedly (for example, you cannot close the program window).

Although these problems can arise due to software or hardware malfunction, it is recommended that upon detecting them, you run a complete scan of your computer to ensure that you are not infected.