I can make mayhem of your computer
-Malware
I acknowledge your curiosity about learning more about how your PC can respond during the malware attack. The possibility of creation of loopholes and vulnerabilities increases as there is an advancement in any of the fields, this also holds when it comes to computers. There will be no perfect security that can guarantee the defense from every possible malware created. Although having an antivirus can make things simpler and it allows us to focus on other concerns rather than about security. It is preferred to have something than nothing, but when it comes to the security of the computer one should have at least the basic idea about how malware works. The computer that is under the malware attack can continuously give out indications about the situation, it depends on the user that how quick they can identify what's wrong and respond to it. The delay of response can result in deteriorating performance and even data loss in some cases. So as far as the indications are a concern, this thread can help you understand these in detail with low prerequisites and in a very basic manner. Here are the indicators one should look for.
Malware Infection Symptoms/Indications
1. Your PC's performance is declining.
Your PC takes more time to launch the applications or they are running slower than usual. It can be very frustrating to work in this environment where the PC's response time is so long, you can relate this to a scenario where you are playing a First-Person Shooting game with very low fps. One of the malware’s main activity is to slow down your operating system, as they can be using those resources for their purpose. The slowdown can be experienced while browsing, playing or performing any regular task. You need to have a rough idea about the performance of your PC under any application at the first place to identify if there is a flaw due to malware or there are other factors which are slowing down the computer, these factors include :
- Low Random Access Memory.
This can happen in case you open many applications and there is no room for everything.
You can check what application is consuming how much memory space via Task Manager.
To open Task Manager right-click on the taskbar and choose task manager or click ALT+CTRL+DEL at the same time and then choose task manager.
- Less storage space on a hard disk.
You might need a good cleanup, in this case, to get the system back on the track.
- Browsers absorbing the resources.
Browsers tend to absorb so many resources due to excessive add-ons or extensions.
Over time, files on a hard drive become fragmented. In simple terms, this means that parts of these files get stored in different areas of the drive and not next to each other. Thus, the storage space is used inefficiently and reduces your PC’s performance, making it harder for your operating system to open a file. This can be resolved via a Windows disk defragmenter.
Try using the latest version of windows as they constantly cover the vulnerabilities and resolve the bugs which can cause potential slowdown.
If you are still facing a slowdown after resolving the above factors your PC might be infected with malware.
2. Ads, Strange Pop-ups, Unusual messages.
A message pops up informing that one of your application is attempting to access the Internet without your command. Or you see an unusual error message saying you have a corrupt file on your computer. These can be signs of malware infection.
This form of malware is known as spyware and is designed to accumulate and steal user's sensitive data without their knowledge they might even disperse your information to the malware owners.
These pop-ups usually come bundled with other hidden malware threats and can be far more destructive for your OS. This malware can disguise to be a legit program and track the data transfers and can collect the passwords.
DO NOT CLICK those pop-ups!
Learn more about Adware (A subcategory of malware) here.
3. PC crashes and BSOD.
If you get the popular BSOD ( Blue Screen of Death ). Then it recovered and shows you Windows was recovering from an unexpected shutdown. There might be the following reasons for its occurrence.
- Due to Windows system files corruption.
- Corrupted Windows registry.
- Damaged RAM or faulty system drivers.
- Hard disk drive corruption.
- Driver conflict between newly installed hardware.
- Virus or malware.
4. Substantial increase in internet traffic.
Getting lower internet browsing and download speed than usual, you get. This can happen due to some technical issues regarding your ISP or issues with a router or a malware infection. The most common category of malware which absorbs high internet traffic is Adware, which has the potential to switch your internet traffic to go through some ad servers, through which the PC can get more infected due to downloads, which adware carry out through the ad servers.
Learn more about Adware (A subcategory of malware) here.
5. Different homepage and new toolbars.
Your homepage has been changed without your knowledge or you’ve been redirected to a different web address different from the one you’ve initially accessed or a new toolbar pops out of nowhere and lands at the top of your browser window. You can't get rid of the toolbar however hard you try. These incidents are clear signs of a malware infection. You must have accidentally clicked a link or a pop-up window, which then downloaded unwanted software and installed it on your computer.
6. Weird computer behavior.
Any of the windows tasks which escape the normal regular pattern of your work can be considered as weird behavior.
This includes :
- Automatic closure of some applications.
- Application flashing on and off in no time.
- Command prompt like black window popping up and closing.
- Unknown application getting installed and runs in real-time.
- Unintended shutdowns.
- Windows tells you that you’ve lost access to some of your drives.
- CD-ROM tray opens and closes
7. Antivirus or firewall turned off.
If you noticed your antivirus program doesn’t seem to work anymore or the Update module is disabled or change in unintentional firewall setting, then you should be bothered about your PC's condition
As there is an advancement in the cybersecurity the malware is upgrading too. Some of them can bypass the antivirus or firewall whereas, some can freeze them or turn them off to make their purpose much simpler to achieve
If you already tried to reboot your computer, closed and opened the antivirus and all your troubleshooting efforts seemed useless, you could take into consideration the malware infection scenario.
8. Strange messages / E-mails with your ID.
If your friends recently got several strange messages/emails or suspicious links from you, and you didn’t send them, you've likely been infected with malware. Maybe your accounts are hijacked without you noticing it. This might happen when the infections are gone too far or your account is hacked.
9. Unknown icons on your desktop.
If you’ve been noticing unknown and new icons on your PC, you most likely downloaded by accident these sneaky programs called PuPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs). They are malicious programs that can do a lot of damage and expose you to data leakage, displaying annoying ads or pop-ups on the screen, or adding toolbars on your browser. They often come together with suspicious software you’ve ended up installing from third party websites or torrents. Also, these programs can be bundled with some legit programs and hosted on third party sites. You may have accidentally given your consent to install additional tools that you didn’t notice we're there.
10. Unresponsive control panel.
If you are facing this issue and your Control Panel does not open, it means that your computer is having a technical problem and is not functioning correctly or the malware which is infesting your PC is not letting you do so. There is much malware that has the potential to monitor the processes and they can also respond in the areas when it is likely to be revealed. For example, freezing the firewall and the antivirus, freezing the task manager, installation failures, etc. can happen.
11. Perfect after an unusual behavior/performance drop.
What I mean by 'Perfect after an unusual behavior/performance drop' is, when there is a suspicious activity or an unknown behavior and after that happening, your PC seems to be recovered. Should you be concerned about your PC's security?
The answer should be YES, as you need to find the flaw which resulted in that unusual behavior in the first place. It can be malware or it may be any technical flaw or a bug within your system.
When it comes to malware, Crypto Miners can cause the above situation. In this modern age malware, creators can create crypto miners which mine the cryptocurrency by using a host PC. These miners have a high potential to absorb the resources to mine the cryptocurrency. These miners usually work when the PC is under a normal load so that the PC user cannot be sure of the presence of the miner but when a resource-heavy application or game runs on the PC the miner shuts itself down so that it cannot be caught.
12. Miscellaneous reasons.
- Application launch issues.
- Extended amount of boot time.
- WebCam malfunctions.
- Files are unable to be renamed.
- Different IPs listed in the host file.
- Changes in browser policies ( in case of adware ).
- Often encountering a heating issue in normal usage.
I hope I fulfilled your curiosity about this topic and if you are facing some issues regarding the same feel free to comment down I will try my best to respond as soon as possible.
