Computer Viruses

Computer Viruses What are They? What to do if Your Computer Is Infected...

Aside from mechanical or hardware breakdown, one possible threat which can negatively affect the performance or functioning of a computer is when the system eventually gets infected by a computer virus.

What are computer viruses and how do they attack

A computer virus is a small program or software which can linger and spread inside the entire computer system and has a general effect of corrupting or affecting the proper performance of existing computer software or program. And as computers advance, these viruses evolve as well. Majority of these viruses are now more powerful, destructive, and harder to eliminate or confine. Some of the viruses target the destruction, corruption, or even deletion of your computer’s most important files. And because they easily replicate, they can infect a large portion of computer data and system in a very short period of time.

If computer viruses are traditionally confined to specific types of destructive programs, today, several kinds of computer infections are now tagged and classified as a virus. The terms malwares and viruses are now often used interchangeably, there are also the worms, computer bugs, and the dreaded Trojan horses. Malwares are types of computer infections that have more devastating effects. Malwares can be programmed to perform the destructive capabilities of known viruses and at the same time perform a malicious or illegal act. Malwares can be programmed to destroy and at the same time steal computer or personal data. They can also be used by perpetrators to monitor or spy on the computer activities of an individual, etc.

All of these computer viruses are usually spread through several means. The primary culprits include the internet, through e-mails, download sites, infected external drives or flash drives, infected servers or computer networks, etc. Among the symptoms of a possible virus infection are; computer program malfunctions or errors, unexplained or sudden slowing of computer performance, frequent crashes or breakdown, data loss, or the simple alert or triggering of the antivirus program itself.

How to deal with it if your computer is infected

-           Run the antivirus program. Antivirus or antimalware software or programs are primarily installed to prevent viruses and other kinds of malwares from attacking or infecting your computer. These programs also have the capability of isolating and solving out the virus problem if a virus has eventually slipped through the computer security or firewall. Dependent on the type of virus that has infected your computer, an up-to-date antivirus program should be able to delete and resolve it.

-          Minimize the number of programs used. Since viruses and malwares can infect other computer files, data, and program in an instant, it is ideal not to run other unessential program while the virus problem is being solved. The less active the computer is, the less are the programs and data the virus can attack.

-          Start salvaging or saving files. After learning that your computer has been infected by a virus, it is recommended to backup and salvage as much important files as possible. This will prevent data loss if the virus problem eventually gets worse.

-          Consult and seek help from expert. If the computer virus problem is extraordinary to the extent that your basic clean-up efforts and the antivirus program aren’t that effective, it is best to seek the help of computer technicians or IT experts. This could be your last resort especially if you are trying to save very important computer files from being corrupted and destroyed. In Salt Lake City, Utah, the IT and computer experts of Computer Fix could be of great help. To visit our website click here on our name Computer Fix SLC. We look forward to helping you!