6 Signs Your Computer Has Malware Problems

A reliable antivirus tool and knowledge about potential cybersecurity threats online are not necessarily enough to prevent your device from getting affected by malware and other similar issues.

The odds of this happening increase depending on how good someone is with technology. For instance, if you are not familiar with scams that go via emails, you might be tempted to click on a shady URL announcing how you are one of the lucky winners and that you need to visit an X or Y website to claim your prize.

Of course, that is only one of the examples of how one meets a cybersecurity threat and has to face the consequences.

For the most part, it should be possible to get rid of the malware by scanning the system with reliable antivirus software and removing corrupted data. Or, at the very least, reinstalling the operating system to give the computer a clean slate.

In more extreme cases, you might be left with no options. Unless you backed up your data in advance, restoring corrupted or deleted files might not be a possibility.

Ultimately, you need to identify early signs that your computer has a malware problem. And as a rule of thumb, you should have antivirus software running in the background all the time so that it can identify issues and solve them before a cybersecurity threat gets out of hand.

Now, for the signs of a potential malware issue on your computer, there are quite a few different instances to consider, which we will cover in the rest of this article.

Overall Sluggish Computer Performance

One of the first indications of a potential malware issue is the fact that your computer drops performance-wise. It takes longer for apps to load; there are random crashes and freezes, background processes require more memory and other resources than usual, and so on.

Of course, these issues might be related to outdated hardware and other factors, but as far as malware signs go, poor computer performance as a whole is up there. If you wish to learn about ways to improve your computer's speed, the video below should come in quite handy:

Battery Consumption

If you are on a laptop and notice that it takes longer for the device to charge than usual or that the battery drains quite fast despite not having redundant background processes and visual effects, you can also treat it as a potential indication of a malware infection.

It should not come as a surprise that this problem of struggles with battery is a thing among laptop owners, particularly those who have relatively old computers. It is just that you might have malware-related issues, which require a different approach than, say, replacing the battery.

Ads and Random Pop-Ups

You expect to encounter ads and various pop-ups on an Internet browser when you are not using an ad blocker, right? But what if you experience these nuisances while using a computer without an Internet browser?

The idea seems pretty random, and it does not happen often. However, when it is there, you can be almost certain that the result of these things is because of malware. You might have installed one via the Internet browser or another source.

Internet Browser Acting Up

Speaking on an Internet browser, there are also a few notable moments in it that could indicate malware-related issues.

For example, your home page could change to something random without you doing it. Or there might be various plugins and extensions installed that you would never use.

In other words, if something is messing with your Internet browser setup, you should treat it as a cybersecurity problem.

Unfamiliar Icons and Files

If you boot your computer and notice random files on the desktop that should not be there, or if you open the computer's disk and see unknown folders with names that make no sense, be mindful of the fact that these files could have been created by a computer virus.

The tricky thing is figuring out whether you can and should remove these files without a second thought. It might be better to scan the device using antivirus software or scan these specific files to see what the antivirus tells about them. Or you can also do a quick search online by entering precise file names and see what the results are.

Denied Access to Computer

By denied access, we do not mean an obstacle that prevents you from launching the computer in the first place (though that might happen as well). No, it is more about the denial to access certain areas of the device, such as System Preferences or operating system files.

You should be free to navigate the computer and access its areas (with some exceptions requiring specific settings), and if that is not possible, the odds are that you have malware on your computer.