Viruses

Viruses have been around since someone with too much time on their hands got onto a computer.  Viruses by definition are destructive and malicious.  Some are designed to disrupt you operating system [Windows] causing all number of strange things to happen.  They also can delete or corrupt data on your system i.e. word documents, emails, spreadsheets, and much more.  There are some viruses that will do nothing and simply sit there and do no harm [although they still should be removed just the same].

How you get viruses

Viruses can be spread in similar ways to their biological counterparts.  They can spread through files shared between two computer.  If a file is infected on one system and transferred to another and opened, the would intern infect the new system.  Viruses can also spread through a network.  If you have more than one computer and both can get on the internet through one source or they share files between them, then you have and are on a network.  Most of the time this happens without your knowledge unless you have a good antivirus program and/or firewall.  You may also become infected from download e-mail attachments.  So if you have an email from someone you don't recognize and it has an attachment there is a good probability that it is a virus.

One other highly missed place that viruses hide is in Peer-to-Peer applications.  This means all those programs like Kazaa, Bearshare, Imesh, Morpheus, and other all contain viruses in their networks.  Whatever reason you may be using them for, it is highly suggested that you remove those programs.  Aside from the threat of virus infections you can also be easily "hacked into" be an outside computer user if you use these programs.   The old adage is "You get what you get what you pay for".  Well you may be getting a bill for a few hundred dollars to repair the viruses that entered through these programs.

Symptoms of viruses

There are a whole range of symptoms that are associated with viruses.  Symptoms can range from Windows not starting up to programs taking a very long time to operate to not opening at all.  You may also get error messages from windows or other programs.  As a caution, spyware infections can also be mistaken for virus infections.  The two are both a hassle to deal with.

Ways to check for infections

There are several ways to check for virus infections but most of them need to be done in a lab situation.  However here are a few online scans that will tell you if you are infected with viruses [and in some cases spyware].

Panda On-line Scan

These two sites will help diagnose your problems but will not take care of all of them however.  It is advisable to write down the infection names after the scan to record what viruses are on your system.  Only a full fledged antivirus program will help you remove the infections.

There are times where infections are lodged into the system to a point where they can not be removed by scanning and attempting to remove them while the system is running.  At that point it is advisable to contact a professional computer company for repair.  US Computron is capable of handling all of your antivirus needs.  We can repair infections ranging from a single home system to an entire business network.