How to Spot and Defeat Viruses: A Simple Guide for Non-Techies
Has your smartphone slowed down to a crawl recently? Are blue screens of death haunting your PC even though everything seems OK with the hardware? Viruses are likely suspects in both cases. That’s the bad news. The good news is that you can do much to identify, eliminate, and protect yourself from viruse, even if tech isn’t your thing.
This thorough guide will help you understand what viruses do, how they spread, and the symptoms of infection. By the time you’re through, you’ll have all the knowledge and tools needed to treat existing infections and ensure you won’t be a victim ever again.
What is a Virus?
A computer virus is a program with bad intentions that behaves like a real-world virus. Like its namesakes, a computer virus will latch onto or infect a healthy target—like a program, written document, or compressed file—and execute its instructions once you interact with the infected file.
While still dangerous, computer viruses, in the strictest sense, aren’t as widespread as they used to be. When people talk about viruses nowadays, what they’re most likely referring to is a broader category of malware – short for malicious software – that uses varied and sophisticated strategies to infect and exploit your devices.
What Kind of Damage Can Viruses Do?
That depends on the type of virus and its intent. Back in the day, some viruses would just scare you and make you think twice about downloading something from a sketchy website. The vast majority aren’t as forgiving nowadays.
Hackers primarily create viruses for monetary gain. Data theft and encryption are the most successful ways of making money this way.
Viruses can extract valuable data in different ways. For example, a keylogger is a nasty piece of ill-intentioned software that records all your keystrokes or screen taps. It wants to capture important details—like your account logins, personal info, or answers to secret security questions—and send them to its creators. This may grant hackers access to your important accounts or even give them enough information about you to commit identity theft.
Ransomware is another digital plague to be wary of. It scans your system for files essential to its operation and any important documents. Ransomware then encrypts them, meaning it scrambles the contents and locks you out of accessing them. The only way to get that access back is by paying up.
Some viruses are designed to turn your devices into a crypto mining rig, massively slowing down their performance while they reap the benefits. Other ones may annoy you with intrusive popups and ads or change how your system behaves.
How do Viruses Spread?
Antivirus and anti-malware measures have become significantly better at detecting and dealing with infections, and standards like https have made communication over the internet safer. That leaves the user as the weakest link, so most virus-spreading efforts target humans.
Phishing is among the most well-known and widespread methods. Phishing emails resemble real messages from your bank, favorite online retailer, or social media site. They urgently claim there’s a problem you need to handle by opening an attached file or clicking on a link that takes you to a fake website. There, you are asked to download a virus or to enter your account credentials, which the crooks can then use to take the associated account over.
Visiting shady parts of the internet can also result in an infection. Media torrents or expensive programs may contain viruses, as installers bundle legitimate software with “special offers” that slow your device down. You may not even need to do anything other than visit an unsafe site to download malicious files, known as a drive-by download.
Physical media is another potential risk. While dealing with other people’s thumb drives or portable disks isn’t as common as it used to be, you may still need to swap some files for school or work this way and pick up unwanted hitchhikers during the transfer.
What Are the Signs of a Virus Infection?
Some viruses are stealthy and can hide for months until you perform a specific action. However, many will noticeably affect your device. Here are the telltale signs of an infection to keep an eye on:
- Performance feels sluggish—programs and apps take longer to load, the user interface isn’t as responsive as it used to be, etc.
- Sudden crashes or freezing.
- Smartphones and tablets heat up more and don’t last nearly as long per charge as usual, even though you haven’t been running power-hungry apps.
- You get pop-ups or ads on your desktop or inside your internet browser.
- Your homepage is different, or extra tabs open up while browsing.
- Emails or messages are being sent to your contacts from your device without your knowledge or consent.
How to Get Rid of Viruses?
Once you suspect a virus is at fault, it’s time to identify and get rid of it. Install reputable antivirus and anti-malware on your device, make sure it’s updated, and have it run a thorough scan. Any found viruses will be quarantined, and you can inspect or delete them from there. If the behavior continues, you may need to boot your PC or Android device into safe mode to delete files or apps you normally couldn’t.
If that doesn’t fix the problem, consider restoring the system to a previous state where everything was still fine. In the worst-case scenario, but thankfully rare, you’ll have to reinstall your operating system. Don’t forget to back up all your important files first.
Getting rid of a virus may also mean dealing with the aftermath. Remember, some viruses will steal your data, which may then become accessible to data brokers and various online databases. This deepens your digital footprint and endangers your privacy. Data removal services like Incogni can intervene to have these collectors remove your data and continue to do so, protecting you from the harmful impact of future leaks and breaches. You can also check the Incogni price to see how affordable it is to secure your privacy long-term.
How to Protect Yourself?
A successful virus protection strategy involves two equally important measures – the right cybersecurity tools and responsible behavior.
Cybersecurity tools ensure a safe user experience by automatically scanning for and dealing with threats. An up-to-date antivirus is a good start. However, you’ll want to supplement them with a network security and monitoring tool like a VPN, especially if you work remotely or connect to the internet via unsafe means, like public Wi-Fi.
When considering antivirus vs VPN, it’s important to understand their distinct functions. VPNs create secure connections between your device and any online service you want to access, like websites, streaming platforms, or game servers. They ensure no one can listen in on the connection or track your activity, protecting you from information theft. A VPN may also use lists of known harmful websites to steer users away from them.
While cybersecurity tools are the backbone of your digital defense, your behavior can have an even greater impact. Recognizing phishing attempts and other forms of social engineering will reduce the danger, as will sticking to trusted websites and app stores. Add to that responsible social media use and minimal sharing of personal info, and you’ve got a sound virus protection strategy.
Conclusion
Viruses predate the personal computer and will likely continue to evolve well into the future. As a user, the smartest thing you can do is be aware of the danger, keep the right tools updated, and act responsibly to keep up with the challenge and stay safe.