How to spot Trojans and Viruses?
Trojans (Trojan Horses), spyware and viruses are malicious programs that cause immense destruction to the computer system that they infect. If your computer is infected with any of the malware like botware and spyware, it will show symptoms of the infection by which you can spot the trouble-making code. A Trojan works by allowing your computer to be remote controlled by other people (read hackers) in the network, whereas, though not strictly, a virus may just destroy the data on your computer without making it accessible by others from the network Hence you should be very careful in identifying any malware on your computer and take steps to remove them as soon as possible.
Spotting a Trojan or a virus is not all that tough. As soon as your PC catches the infection, it behaves in a very unusual manner. It will appear as though your computer has got a mind of its own and it is operating beyond your control. You can check out some of these symptoms that are interesting to observe in anti virus software reviews. Your CD ROM drive may open and close all by itself as though it is possessed. If you get a virus scan done you will find that the possessor is none other than the computer ‘ghost’ - a virus or a Trojan.
There are many crazy things that you can witness you computer doing. The screen may turn topsy-turvy, and might start blinking. You might also find the desktop items turned upside down. These happenings might intrigue you, but you should remember that they are occurring because the hackers from some remote part of the world are controlling your PC, and the software security feature of your PC is totally disabled by the invaders. Some of the very aggressive virus software does not stop at just disturbing the settings of your desktop or wallpaper. They start accessing the hardware that is associated with your computer. For example, they might access your printer and send you friendly messages on that. Such aggressive programs are sometimes difficult to eliminate even with the best antivirus program that is available today.
The moment the Trojan is entered in your computer, you may not even realize its presence. The first symptom can be an automatic shutdown or rebooting which is quite similar to the one that takes place if there is a serious voltage fluctuation. Whenever your computer shows these or any of the hundreds of symptoms like this, you should take prompt action. If you observe carefully you will find in the registry of your computer entries showing the path tracing the source of the malicious code. You can get to see the DLLs and the handles of your OS that have been infected. Then you should use anti virus software tools to remove the malicious code. Another method is to use anti Trojan and antivirus software to detect and isolate the computer pathogen. Many sites allow an antivirus download. You should choose from the official anti virus websites only.
Some of the websites offering applications that combat viral and Trojan infections offer free anti virus scan for you to get a feel of their product. Some of them also offer free anti virus software accessories and programs on a trial basis.
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