Is Your Computer Infected With Dangerous Malware?

If a malware attack hits your business, there's a 34% chance that it'll take a week or longer to regain access to your data and systems. Here in Gladstone and Mount Isa, and I'm sure around Australia, can represent quite a bit of damage to our P&Ls.

 

Let's break it down for a moment. Malware is an umbrella term that encompasses many different types of malicious code. It can include:

- Viruses

- Ransomware

- Spyware

- Trojans

- Adware

- Keyloggers

And more

 

The more time that a malware sits on your system unchecked, the more damage it can and will do. Most forms of malware have a goal built in to spread to and infect as many systems as possible. I'm sure you're no stranger to compounding interest. If they're not caught and removed right away, one computer could end up infecting 10 more on the same network in no time. 

 

Early detection is critical so you can disconnect an infected device from your network and have it properly cleaned by a professional.

 

I thought it would be fitting to mention that just because you're in a regional town such as Gladstone, Mount Isa or Coober Pedy doesn't make you immune to these attacks. Malware doesn't discriminate.

 

Here are some key warning signs of malware infection for you to keep a look out for so you can jump into action and reduce your risk.

Unfortunately for business owners, some forms of malware can be sneaky and take on the disguise of being an antivirus app or warranty notice that pops up on your screen. Hackers endeavour to mimic things that we may have seen from a legitimate and real program. It's more likely we'll click without thinking in those circumstances. Fortunately, you're reading this blog and know better.

 

If you begin to see a strange and even uncalled for “renew your antivirus” subscription alert or a warranty renewal that doesn’t quite make sense, do not follow through. It's always best to be on the more cautious side. These are red flags to watch out for and could be signs that your PC has been infected with adware or another type of malware.

Computers can become slow for a variety of reasons. These can be having too many tabs open at once, or running a memory-intensive program. You should know how your computer reacts to certain programs and the types of things that slow it down over time.

 

If you begin to notice new sluggish behaviour that is out of the ordinary, that could very well be a sign of infection. One example would be, if you don’t have any programs open except notepad or another simple app, and you experience freezing.

 

When malware is running in the background, it often eats up system resources and causes your system to get sluggish.

Public announcement; applications should not just crash out of the blue. There is always a reason. Either the software is faulty, there’s been a problem with an update, or something else may be messing with that application’s files.

 

If, all of a sudden you experience apps crashing, and you to restart the app or reboot your system, this is a sign that a virus, trojan, or other malicious code has gotten in.

If you open the browser you usually use and land on a homepage that is not the one you normally see, have your PC scanned for malware ASAP. Redirecting a home page is a common objective for certain types of malware.

 

The malware will infect your system and change the system setting for your default browser home page. This could lead you to a site filled with popup ads or even to another type of phishing site.

 

No, just trying to change your homepage back in your settings won’t fix the situation. It’s crucial to have the malware removed for good.

Very much like instantly closing programs, another annoying trait of certain types of malicious code is to make your whole system reboot without warning.

 

Imagine constantly losing the work you’re doing. It'd be difficult to get anything done. This could occur when malware is altering core system files in the background. With the files corrupted, your system becomes unstable and can lead to unexpected reboots.

If you find that a noticeable amount of your hard drive space that was previously free now gone, it could be a malware infection selfishly taking up your space. This can happen when malware makes copies of files or introduces new files into your system.

 

They will cleverly hide, don’t expect to see the word “malware” on a file search (although that would make life easier for us). Instead, the dangerous activities will usually be masked by a generic-sounding name that you mistake for a normal system file.

If you open a file and it's corrupted, this could be a red flag that ransomware or another form of malware has infected your system.

 

Sometimes files can become corrupt for other reasons, but to be on the cautious side, conduct a malware scan if this happens.

 

I'm sure that a lot of us are familiar with those “thinking sounds” when our computer is processing something very memory intensive. It's a type of whirring hum that goes away once you finish that activity.

 

If you start hearing this processing sound when you’re not doing anything particularly intensive on your computer, this could be a sign that malware is active in the background and it should be checked out.

 

 

As convenient as they are, free online malware and virus scans aren’t very reliable. Truthfully, our team at Kixup IT knows the most efficient way to deal with these dangerous malware and we can ensure your entire system is cleaned properly.

 

Andrew Frahm

Founder of Kixup IT & Kixup Repairs