Malware or virus

[Walter_Kai]

Just out of curiosity, how do I know if my computer has been infected, let it be a malware or virus?

I always go through installed programs, msconfig, and my anti-virus program (ESET Internet Security in-depth computer scan) to try and look for them.

 

But I always wonder if some malware or virus might be running in my computer without me noticing? How would I actually know? I remember a few years back I take my computer to a computer shop and the technician would tell me she removed some malware or whatever it is, despite my anti-virus program saying my computer is clean.

 

I know obvious signs like:

 -slow computer

 -random program asking for permission

 -web plug ins

 - random web page opening by itself

 - random high CPU or drive usage

 

I guess my question is, how do I know if I need to take my computer in for a malware/virus check?

[Rex_G]

4 minutes ago, Walter_Kai said:

-SNIP-

You should have a antivirus and an antimalware protection software on your computer. Schedule automatic scans and keep the real time protection on. Some malware won't even affect your performance but will send out you info (like a keylogger). Best thing you can do is to use an up to date antivirus and antimalware software 

[HanZie82]

A virus and malware arent really the same.
Next to a good anti-virus i would also recommend scanning for malware lik every month, or more if you have kids using the PC.

[GoldenSound]

Malware is an incredibly broad term, and the "symptoms" can vary.

There are obvious ones, such as your PC slowing down massively due to cryptocurrency mining malware, or ads/popups appearing on everything etc.

But then there are ones that by design are made so that you DON'T know they're there, things like keyloggers that will be used to steal passwords or bank info etc.

These ones you are incredibly unlikely to find yourself, your only option is a good, upto date antivirus such as malwarebytes.


One important note is that there is no antivirus that can catch 100% of malware. But some are MUCH better than others.
I've not tried ESET myself, or even really know many people that use it (which is normally not a good sign in itself)

Generally the highest-rated one is malwarebytes, as it is both extremely effective, and incredibly lightweight (some antiviruses can be very intrusive, and do things like slow down or outright stop applications from working, malwarebytes doesn't do any of that)

I'd recommend giving a scan with that

[Walter_Kai]

Yeah, I am not too familiar with the terms virus, malware etc. I guess I will be annoying a few people

 

The only software I use is ESET internet security which accordingly to their web-page does:

 - antivirus

 - antispyware

 - exploit blocker (no idea what that means)

 - cloud-powered scanning

 - ransomware shield

 - script based attack protection

 

So I took it as an all in one protection software? I did pay for it (and it's quite expensive), so I don't fancy installing more protection software on it. Also doesn't installing too many protection software cause issues?

 

No one else uses my computer other than me, as it has some expensive software (autodesk package, matlab), and I use it for document writing most of the time. I am aware that some 'harmful' programs might just simply send my info out without me noticing. I guess my question is how do I know my computer is performing these actions? Like is there a way to tell if my computer has been infected?

 

 

[Walter_Kai]

9 minutes ago, GoldenOne said:

Malware is an incredibly broad term, and the "symptoms" can vary.

There are obvious ones, such as your PC slowing down massively due to cryptocurrency mining malware, or ads/popups appearing on everything etc.

But then there are ones that by design are made so that you DON'T know they're there, things like keyloggers that will be used to steal passwords or bank info etc.

These ones you are incredibly unlikely to find yourself, your only option is a good, upto date antivirus such as malwarebytes.


One important note is that there is no antivirus that can catch 100% of malware. But some are MUCH better than others.
I've not tried ESET myself, or even really know many people that use it (which is normally not a good sign in itself)

Generally the highest-rated one is malwarebytes, as it is both extremely effective, and incredibly lightweight (some antiviruses can be very intrusive, and do things like slow down or outright stop applications from working, malwarebytes doesn't do any of that)

I'd recommend giving a scan with that

Yeah that's the worrying bit for me, "stuff" running at the background without me knowing.

Probably due to the different origin of the world, ESET is not a small or a random company, there was a review with bitdefender scoring 100, and ESET scoring 98 for malware detection and blocking. 

 

Unfortunately I won't be able to get bit-defender and scan it, as this machine has a licence with ESET and I can't just get rid of it. 

[homeap5]

Sometimes computer specialists found some suspicious cookies or false positive or even strange programs that you use but they don't know them. And then tells you that you have viruses. So it may be just false alarm.

[userv.1256]

On 12/11/2018 at 1:22 PM, Walter_Kai said:

Just out of curiosity, how do I know if my computer has been infected, let it be a malware or virus?

I always go through installed programs, msconfig, and my anti-virus program (ESET Internet Security in-depth computer scan) to try and look for them.

 

But I always wonder if some malware or virus might be running in my computer without me noticing? How would I actually know? I remember a few years back I take my computer to a computer shop and the technician would tell me she removed some malware or whatever it is, despite my anti-virus program saying my computer is clean.

 

I know obvious signs like:

 -slow computer

 -random program asking for permission

 -web plug ins

 - random web page opening by itself

 - random high CPU or drive usage

 

I guess my question is, how do I know if I need to take my computer in for a malware/virus check?

might be adware. Recommend ADWCLEANER