Determining If Your Computer Has a Virus

Watch out for criminals who can log your keystrokes enabling them to steal your password, credit card numbers, and even enter websites. They can even link your infected computer to other computers to send out spam.

There are signs to observe to determine if your computer is infected. If your computer suddenly slows down for an extended amount of time, this may be because of a malicious program running in the background. 'another sign id continuous pop-up ad that seem to not go away this is probably adware. They are directing you to sites that you had no intent to visit.

You need to get yourself some anti-virus software. This software will help you to identify those malicious programs and disable them. If the virus is not detected, there are anti-virus us not detected, there are anti-virus vendors who are willing to delete malware for a fee. Some do offer anti-virus scanning services for free. Reinstall the operating system because malware can be hidden on your machine Don't forget to backup files first.

There is no certainty to the type of information that can be taken from your computer. Not all infections steal data. Some of t hem flood you with unwanted ads. Some will infect your search results so you'll go to the websites that you don't want to go to. Others can log into your keystrokes.

Anti-virus companies have a huge database of information concerning known infections and what they can and can't do. If they can compare the results from your virus with others who have had viruses, it will give them an idea of the information that have been taken from your computer.

Anti-virus software can save you a lot of money and headache by informing you when there is a possible threat to your computer data. Here are two popular anti-virus software:

McAfee- It has a choice of VirusScan Plus, Internet Security, or Total Protection. The recommended total protection will stop viruses, block spyware, stop hackers, a home license subscription service, secure your identity, protect again spam and email scams, protect your children while online, backup files, give network protection, and protect up to 3 PCs.

Norton- Same as McAfee with three options to choose from: Internet Security, total protection, and AntiVirus. Be sure to check computer compatibility to your PC. It as little as 39.99 for a one year download of the AntiVirus 2009.

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