Ten Signs Your PC Is Infected

We often get surprised looks from customers when we tell them their computers were infected after they've brought them in for a tune up. A common misconception is you will always 'know' you have a virus because of something on your screen. While some do lock you out of your system and put up screens, many are 'silent', sitting deep in your computer capturing every keystroke or using your computer for criminal purposes. So here are ten signs your computer MAY be infected:

10) The system is slower than normal. Many factors can affect a computer's performance, but a virus infection will often gobble up processing power and memory. It may also be that your computer needs more memory.

9) Your anti-virus icon has disappeared or indicates the protection is off or disabled (and you can't get it turned back on). Or it can't seem to get new 'updates'. The first thing viruses often do is try to disable/break the installed AV software. A similar sign is Windows Updates no longer install.

8) You can't start the task manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del). You'll often get an error instead of the list of running processes. This helps protect a virus from technicians looking for suspect processes.

7) You notice a lot of network traffic when you aren't using your computer. Look at the router LED for your LAN connection. The WAN/Internet LED will often flash even with your computer turned off, but watch the WiFi and LAN LEDs. If they seem to ALWAYS be flashing – this can be a sign of virus activity. It can also be updates downloading, email accounts being checked, etc. But this tends to be sporadic. But non stop rapid network traffic for extended periods of time are a red flag for virus activity.

6) Random web pages pop up or when you enter a website, you're sometimes taken someplace else. Viruses can often make money for their authors by directing infected users to sites that pay for referred visits. Similarly – your search engine has changed. If you normally hit Google or Bing when you search in your browser, then suddenly end up with results from someplace else – this can be spyware or a virus.

5) You cannot run any programs (except maybe Internet Explorer). This is a sure sign.

4) All your icons disappear or your background suddenly changes or goes black.

3) You cannot get onto the Internet any more. Or you can only get certain places. This can sometimes be a problem with your router or ISP, but often viruses try to intercept all your network traffic and if they fail – you can't get online.

2) Your hard drive has a lot less space. Most users use, on average, 50-75GB of space. If you suddenly see your hard drive using up hundreds of GB and you haven't put a ton of videos on it – a virus may be using your computer to serve pirated/illegal material.

1) Computer utilities suddenly 'appear' on your desktop with names like HDD Checker or a program that sounds like an antivirus. Many infections try to disguise themselves as legitimate programs.

If your computer has any of these symptoms, you should have it checked out. The worst virus is the one you don't know about that is tracking everything you do and type. IT Xpress runs many different virus scans on systems we clean to ensure nothing gets missed.

Share with your friends and if you have other curious symptoms, let us know in the comments!

P.S. – Don't forget for the month of March you can get our My ITXpert service for $99 for the first year – a $30 savings! We'll keep your PC secure and running at peak performance all year long! Sign up at http://itxpress.biz/services/my-itxpert/

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  • Yet another critical update for Adobe Flash (and Java v7.15 was released just a few days ago). Make sure you have the latest version ASAP to keep your PC safe! Our My ITXpert customers should be seeing these updates pushed out to them throughout today.


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  • Who says Windows 8 can't have a Start Menu? Tired of the confusing color tiles in Windows 8? Our My ITXpert customers on Windows 8 get a normal start menu and their computer boots directly into the desktop. No more color tiles! Don't miss this month's special! $99 for the first year of service! More details can be found at: http://itxpress.biz/services/my-itxpert/


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  • $99 SPECIAL!!! For a limited time, get the first year of our My ITXpert service for $99! Get your very own IT Xpert to keep your PC secure and running smooth! This includes one hour of remote support, a $65 value, and you save 10% on all in store services for each covered computer. For more details and to sign up, see http://itxpress.biz/services/my-itxpert/ or call 336-525-5005. Share this great deal with your friends!


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  • $99 SPECIAL!!! For a limited time, get the first year of our My ITXpert service for $99! Get your very own IT Xpert to keep your PC secure and running smooth! This includes one hour of remote support, a $65 value, and you save 10% on all in store services for each covered computer. For more details and to sign up, see http://itxpress.biz/services/my-itxpert/ or call 336-525-5005. Share this great deal with your friends!

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  • Another day another set of critical security patches – this time from Adobe. Some of these vulnerabilities are already being exploited by hackers. Adobe reader will put a red square in your system tray asking you to update. Flash usually auto updates, but not always. Our My ITXpert clients (itxpress.biz/services/my-itxpert/) should see the fixes pushed out to them by the end of the day. Like if you've updated and share with your friends!


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    Emergency fixes released yesterday are designed to fix vulnerabilities recently exploited by a series of targeted attacks. Read this article by Lance Whitney on CNET News.

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  • Oracle just released another Java update which fixes a handful of critical security issues that can be exploited to infect your computer. You can grab the latest version here: http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp?detect=jre&try=1 or look for the orange square icon in your system tray. Like our page (IT Xpress) to get more important PC updates like this every day and share with your friends to help them stay secure!


    Oracle releases new Java fixes, speeds up patching cycle | PCWorld
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    Oracle released new Java security updates on Tuesday and announced plans to accelerate the release of future Java patches following recent attacks that have infected computers with malware by exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities in Java browser plug-ins.

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  • When you turn on your computer – you want it to just 'work'. Like a car. But like a car, computers need regular tuning and cleaning. We can do that for you. Our My ITXpert clients regularly see alerts like this when we update and tune their systems. We can do the same for you! See http://itxpress.biz/services/my-itxpert/ for more details and share with your friends so they can have peace of mind


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  • Ten Things To Remove From Any PC: 'Junkware' gets installed accidentally all the time. It can slow down your computer, track everywhere you go online, and reduce the size of your usable browser window. Here are ten common spyware/junkware/malware packages any PC user should remove:

    10 – MyWebSearch
    9- FunWeb
    8 – Conduit
    7- Rebate Informer
    6 – DealIO
    5 – ShopToWin
    4 – Ask.com
    5 – ShopAtHome
    4 – TopRebates
    3 – Babylon
    2 – RecipeHub
    1 – ANY browser toolbar (you can search directly in every browser)

    Malwarebytes and Spybot Search & Destroy do a good job finding all these unwanted programs. Like if you've scanned for junkware recently and share with your friends!

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  • Adobe PDF Reader is vulnerable and is currently being exploited. Here are some steps to protect yourself until Adobe releases an update. Be very particular about PDF files you open and where they came from!


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  • Microsoft's huge security update has been released! If you want to install the updates as soon as possible, click your Start Menu -> All Programs -> Windows Update. In Windows XP click 'Custom'. In Vista/Win7 click 'Check for Updates. Win8? You don't have a start menu 🙂 Be sure to check the Security Essentials update if you use it – this is an important update to the actual anti-virus software. Note you will be prompted to restart once the updates are complete. Share with your friends and like if you've already updated!

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  • Microsoft's huge security update has been released! If you want to install the updates as soon as possible, click your Start Menu -> All Programs -> Windows Update. In Windows XP click 'Custom'. In Vista/Win7 click 'Check for Updates. Win8? You don't have a start menu 🙂 Be sure to check the Security Essentials update if you use it – this is an important update to the actual anti-virus software. Note you will be prompted to restart once the updates are complete. Share with your friends and like if you've already updated!

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  • Microsoft is releasing a huge batch of security updates on Tuesday! Make sure you restart your computer Tuesday night (and Wednesday in case you are updated late). A number of critical security issues are being fixed that could allow your computer to be infected without you realizing it.


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    Microsoft will issue 12 security updates next week, including two for Internet Explorer, that will patch a near-record 57 vulnerabilities in the browser, Windows, Office and the enterprise-critical Exchange Server email software.

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  • Some great tips for keeping kids safe online!


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  • If you use Kaspersky Anti-virus, a recent update may cause problems accessing the web from Windows XP. Here's information on the problem, and instructions to fix it if their automatic update did not. Still stuck? We can help!


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