Infections

Has Your Computer Slowed Down?

OK, so you're got one of the many antivirus packages installed on your computer. It is up to date, and you carry out regular disk scans. Your machine is clean - or is it?

Every web page you visit downloads every component of the page onto your hard disk - text, images, buttons, everything. This could include things you would rather not have stored on your computer, such as cookies and Trojans.
If your computer is used to download music, etc, your PC is particularly vulnerable!

So, the answer is, probably not. Although you have taken precautions against viruses that could get onto your machine attached to an email and wreak havoc, have you protected your machine against all the malicious software (malware) that is floating around on the World Wide Web?

9 warning signs that your PC is infected

These programs are not detected by email anti-virus software.

They can range from a humble "cookie", which identifies your computer each time you visit a particular site, purely so that the hit counter doesn't count two visits from the same person in a given time. But they could also be programs such as:

	Adware			Keyloggers
	Dialers			Spyware
	Downloaders			Trojans

Virtually every computer connected to the Internet has at least some of these files on them!

Apart from damage to your data and possible security lapses, your PC will be running slowly, as these programs are running in background, taking up resources that you need to run your programs.

As with viruses passed by email, there are many programs to combat this threat. They can be installed on your computer, and as long as you remember to use them from time to time, your machine will be cleaned from these problems.

If you are concerned because your PC is running slowly, then contact PfX Services, who will be glad to clean off your machine and install software that will assist in keeping it free of malware.