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I think my computer is infected – what do I do now?
This is something i found in Guidance and advice - Learn more about malware - Microsoft Malware Protection Center thought of posting it becasue lot of them have this question.
I think my computer is infected – what do I do now?
Depending on the malware or spyware behavior, you may experience a variety of symptoms, or no obvious symptoms at all. Some threats have ways to hide themselves in the computer, while others display messages or pictures that may indicate their presence.
Signs of viruses: Are you infected? outlines possible tell-tale signs that your computer might have malware or spyware installed. However, the most effective way of finding out if you have malware or spyware installed in your computer is to use an antivirus/antispyware product.
To protect your computer, you can install and run an up-to-date antivirus product such as Microsoft Security Essentials, a free solution from Microsoft*, which provides real-time protection from viruses, spyware, and potentially unwanted software. You can also run a full-system virus scan with the Windows Live OneCare safety scanner. To remove spyware and other potentially unwanted software from your computer, you can also use Microsoft Windows Defender. For more information, visit the Microsoft Security site. It is best practice to run a scan with your antivirus/antispyware product on a regular basis.
In addition, you are encouraged to submit files that you suspect to be malware to the MMPC team for analysis. For virus-related assistance at no charge, you can also contact Microsoft through the Microsoft Online Safety Portal.
* Your PC must run a genuine copy of Windows to download and install Microsoft Security Essentials.
What can I do to prevent my computer from becoming infected?
While there is no method that can 100% guarantee that your computer will be not be infected with malware, there are a number of steps that you can take to lessen the probability of this happening.
Microsoft offers 4 basic steps to protect your computer from becoming infected:
- Keep your firewall turned on.
- Keep your operating system up-to-date.
- Keep your antivirus software up-to-date.
- Keep your antispyware technology up-to-date.
The following articles also discuss several ways by which you can protect your computer from known attack vectors:
- How to help prevent computer viruses
- Help avoid computer viruses that spread through e-mail attachments
- Help avoid computer viruses that spread over mobile devices
- 5 steps to help avoid instant message viruses
- RATs: Remote Access Trojans and how to help avoid them
- Strong passwords: How to create and use them
Since malware can arrive as different files, such as .EXE, .DOC, .PDF, and so on, it's also important to be aware that certain files available for download may be malware. Microsoft recommends that you read the following articles for more information: