Is Your System Haunted by a Virus?

Know the Signs So You Can Take Action

Strange noises, phantom messages, slow performance, spooky pop-ups; these all can be signs of a nasty computer virus.  Know the signs so you can take action before the viruses wreak havoc on productivity and possibly harm your company’s image.

Strange Sounds

You’re typing away when you hear a sound. It startles you, but you keep working. It happens again, then again. The sounds could be a series of random noises, or perhaps you hear an un-welcomed advert over the speakers.  It could be a rogue program, or just the result of an overactive imagination. Or, it very well could be a virus or mal-ware.

Slow Down

Have you noticed that your programs are a bit sluggish these days, lurching at a zombie’s pace, where once your computer ran with pep and vigor? This may be due to a virus or a vicious program lurking in the shadows of your system, taxing your computer’s resources. It may be comforting to chalk this up to impatience or too many programs running, but it’s a good idea to let your IT department know about it, and which programs are running slow.

Pop-Ups

Are you getting strange messages in your inbox or social network accounts? Are client’s complaining that you sent scary tweets about hair growth products and vitamins? Chances are that your network isn’t haunted by a prankster ghost, but the system has been infected by mal-ware. Not only is this type of mal-ware annoying to you, but also to your clients.

Files are moved when you’re not looking.

Do you wake up to find that your files and folders have been switched around, or their names have been mysteriously changed? Rather than a pesky poltergeist, this is a pretty good sign that your computer has been infected. Believe it or not, some viruses can move, duplicate, delete, and rename files and folders. Run an up-to-date virus scan and mal-ware detector.

While the thought of a computer virus can be frightening, taking steps to face the problem should ease the nerves. Having responsive and knowledgeable IT professionals help you prepare is a great way to protect your company. For your part, simply keeping your anti-virus and mal-ware software up to date and only browsing trusted sites will help detour spooky viruses from causing harm to your company.

Contact us if you need help with a virus. DWD’s network engineers can assist with removal of a virus.

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