When viruses and malware infect your computer, the infection poses a risk to your privacy and security. Deadly computer infections can destroy your personal or office computers, thereby crippling your business. That is why using anti-virus software to protect your computers is an ideal thing to do. Let us take a look at the possible impacts of a computer infection:
Low speed
If viruses or malware attack your computer, its speed will slow down noticeably. This will make your PC less responsive even after a reboot because the malicious software will be using system resources as well as most of the system memory. With low performance, you will be taking increasingly longer periods to get work done or look for something online. In extreme cases, the infection can degrade the performance or programming of your computer. The virus may also delete data, rendering the computer unusable.
Changing of files
Another major effect of a computer infection is that the malicious software will modify the files on a hard drive or any other writable media. When you see unknown files and folders or applications appearing on your computer’s hard drive, know that the computer has an infection. When modifying software changes files, the operating system may stop functioning. This also includes disabling an operating system’s firewall or other software. If a firewall or any other anti-virus application suddenly begins to have issues, it could be a sign that your computer has an infection.
Weird behaviour
Another possible effect of a virus attack on your computer is its random and strange behaviour. A good example is when a computer’s mouse pointer begins to jump around the screen uncontrollably. Sometimes, it may stop responding. However, it could be something else especially if you are using a wireless mouse. Also, surprising graphics or applications might suddenly appear on a computer screen, and possibly in several windows.
Breach of privacy
In most cases, viruses are designed to gather personal information about you such as your credit card number. Hackers do this for fraud or identity theft. This can also lead to financial losses if the cybercriminals succeed to breach your bank account security.
To save your business computers from being crippled by malicious infections, contact Computerman IT for reliable Business IT Solutions Cairns can trust.