5 Problems on Your Computer That Might be Caused by Malware

Malware is the scary boogeyman of computers, supposedly capable of destroying everything you know and love. But what does it actually look like? How can you tell when your computer is infected? If your computer has any of the following problems, that could be a dead giveaway.

1 Your Browser is Forcefully Redirected Without Warning

Forceful redirects are a huge pain, but they aren’t always a result of malware. Some websites are just trying really hard to get ad revenue, even if they have to force you to another site or web page. You’ve probably been to such a site at least once: whenever you try to press play on a video or even scroll around the page, you get forcefully taken to a different page. In such a case, that’s the specific website being a pain, not malware.

When malware redirects your browser, it’ll be doing it without such obvious triggers. If you’re just trying to reach Google’s homepage and your browser keeps going somewhere else entirely, that’s probably malware. Of course, there are more subtle types of malware redirects too. Some types of malware will redirect you to fraudulent websites that look like the real deal. You might get redirected to what looks like your bank’s official website, but it’s actually fake.

In such a scenario, the only thing that would tip you off would be the URL of the fraudulent website, which wouldn’t match up with the official URL of the real site. If you suspect that you have this type of malware on your computer, check your browser extensions. Redirect malware relies heavily on extensions, so see what all you have installed, and make sure to get rid of anything suspicious that you didn’t intend to be there.

2 You Are Being Bombarded With Pop-Up Ads All the Time

When people think of malware, they often imagine this particular strain of it. Pop-up ads slamming you at every hour of every day, trying to peddle products or convince you that your computer will explode if you don’t pay someone money. The reason this idea is so popular is because this type of malware attack used to be extremely common.

To be frank, it’s not as popular today, but it’s also not unheard of. There is still malware out there that aims to put pop-up ads in your face at all times. Usually, the goal is to make you click on a link, maybe even buy a real product so the culprit can net an affiliate bonus. At any rate, keep in mind that some websites do have legitimate pop-up ads as well, so pop-up ads in general aren’t a sign of malware.

But if you are getting ads that have nothing to do with the web page you are on, or you get them even though you have an ad blocker installed, there is a very good chance they are coming from malware.

3 You Receive Frightening Warnings From “Antivirus” Apps

This type of malware is often referred to as “scareware” and usually comes in the form of a fake antivirus app that occasionally throws up scary and vague warnings about problems with your computer. Something along the lines of “your computer is infected with viruses, take action now!”

If you actually try to take action as the malware demands, it’ll ask you to pay up before it “fixes” the made-up issues it is warning you about. Remember, you pay for real antivirus software upfront, not every time you need it to do its job. Moreover, if you didn’t intentionally install the antivirus software throwing a warning in your face, then it’s probably not legitimate. Computers come stock with in-house antivirus software, not third-party options.

4 Posts You Didn’t Write Appear on Your Social Media

If you start seeing posts you didn’t write show up on your social media, your first assumption might be that someone hacked your account. Well, that’s not impossible, but those mysterious posts could also be the results of specific types of malware. Usually, these posts you didn’t write are offensive or inflammatory, trying to goad other people into clicking on a link in the post, which will then get them infected too.

So if you start seeing such posts, your computer might be infected. Still, maybe change your account passwords too, just to be safe.

If you are computer-savvy enough to know how to use your task manager or even your registry editor, you may think yourself in the clear when it comes to getting rid of any malware you’ve come across. But some malware can cause problems even in this regard, blocking access to your system tools with warnings claiming that an administrator has blocked access or something similar. This is one way that malware tries to defend itself.

Unfortunately, losing access to your system tools makes it more difficult to get rid of that malware. You aren’t totally without options, but ideally, you want to prevent malware from getting onto your computer in the first place. There are a few ways you can go about doing this.

6 How to Get Rid of Malware on Your System

Your computer already comes with some pretty robust security software. Honestly, it’s just as effective as any third-party antivirus software like Norton or McAfee. Your default security system will catch most malware, but you have to be mindful of your actions too. After all, you can always override your antivirus or ignore its warnings.

 

In general, don’t go to suspicious sites or download any files you aren’t sure about. Don’t go around disabling your firewall or security suite without a good reason, and consider using a VPN while you’re browsing the internet. Having your data run over an encrypted channel via VPN is just one more layer of defense.

Make sure all of your antivirus software is update, and run any sort of scan or search it can do to search for malware. That will generally be enough to solve your problems. But if you have some malware that just won’t be destroyed, consider a special program like Malwarebytes to get the job done. Once you are free of the malware, follow all of the tips above to increase your chances of never getting any more.

Ultimately, there are many things that can indicate the presence of malware on your computer. But even if nothing seems wrong at all, that doesn’t mean your computer is free of malware. Some malware operates maliciously in the background without ever creating any symptoms. The best thing you can do to keep your computer and your data safe is to keep your antivirus fully updated so it can continue to catch new threats.