IS YOUR COMPUTER RUNNING WAY TOOO SLLOOOOW?
Is your computer running slow? Does it seem like you are on a dial-up even though you are using DSL? Many times this is caused by either a viruses or spy-ware cluttering up your computer. There are many ways our computers become infested with things we do not want on our machines but a primary way is when we visit web pages that are infected. Another method is through the emails we receive.
We all hear these things but still take our chances sometimes visiting sites that we should not. Often email will have a link included, and when we click on that link suddenly our computer is infected. If you are not a computer tech, your only clue may be that your computer begins to be slower and slower. It can even reach the point of crashing because of these contamination.
DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN VIRUS AND SPY-WARE
One main problem with a virus is that it replicates and attaches itself to other programs on the computer. A virus is a computer program. It could be in the form of an "application" or sent to your computer in a document. I have seen viruses replicate themselves so rapidly that before you could delete it from one place it had already contaminated the computer in another. I remember at least one such incident recently which resulted in having to reformat the hard drive and reload all programs including the operating system. This becomes an expensive and time consuming process.
Spyware is also software that installs itself on your computer. The purpose of spyware is to do just what its name implies, "spy" on you. At some point it will send this information to someone else. Spy-ware purpose is to tell someone else what web sites you visit and items you may be interested in. There are several ways we get spy-ware on our computers but most will come from email attachments and such programs.
When a virus attacks your computer it will hide from you, and it is quiet efficient at this task. There are several different kinds of viruses. Each one will hide in a different manner and attack different parts of your computer. Some viruses hide on the hard drive or a floppy disk or they may be within the main Master Boot Record of your system. A lot will be within a document which hides an executable file. Another type is a script virus. When you go to a web site and click on a link, suddenly you are infected.
Not only is the virus trying to hide from you, but it also must camouflage its location from your anti-virus software. In dislodging viruses I believe it is best to boot your computer in "safe mode", and work from an anti-virus program located on CD. The disadvantage of working from the CD is you will not have the latest updates for the program, but you are also not being exposed to further attacks from the internet while you are working. When you load your anti-virus software into your computer remember to register the program as soon as you are back on the internet, update the program and run the anti-virus software again. You may wonder what program to use. I have found several "free" programs I believe are much better than the ones you pay for. Stay tuned for updates.
Look back often for new posts.
Kermit
