Random Computer Viruses You May Have and What to Do about Them (10 items)

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  (#4) Botnet

  What It Does: You know all that annoying spam? There's a strong chance that your computer is sending spam, just one of the millions of unprotected machines conscripted into a botnet or zombie army. Technically, botnets aren't viruses, but once this malware is in your system, your computer is part of a network carrying out nefarious activities like spamming, identity theft, industrial espionage, extortion, and who knows what else. There are no symptoms, so your computer could be spamming for days, months, or even years, and you'd have no idea that you've been part of a zombie army until your identity's been stolen or your bank account's been ransacked.

  How You Probably Caught It: Most bots are home computers with high-speed internet connections not protected by an adequate firewall. A Trojan Horse slips in through an open port and then you're part of a botnet. 

  Tip: Run an anti-malware app for sure, but you can also investigate your software firewall logs for any unusual approvals or activity and reset your firewall rules to be sure.
  
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  (#2) Slow-Infecting Resident Virus

  What It Does: This one's like a houseguest you didn't even know was sleeping at your place, waiting until he's turned your whole family against you before burning your house down. A resident virus hides in your computer’s memory and wipes out data that you don't even realize is gone until you go looking. If you had a fast infector, you’d probably know by now, because they corrupt as many files as possible as rapidly as possible. These slow infectors, on the other hand, stay hidden by infecting only certain files at certain times, slowly chipping away at everything you save until there's nothing left.

  How You Probably Caught It: By downloading a file or application, whether as an attachment, an illegal download, or a download from a disreputable source distributing malware. Once it was in your memory, it loaded a replication module in your operating system. You can protect your memory with Norton Antivirus, at a discount, on us!

  
  
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  (#9) Overwrite Virus

  What It Does: If you have one of these on your computer, then right now it’s busy completely deleting the information in any file it infects, overwriting data in the memory and effectively wiping out the original program code. So you'll catch on soon enough.

  How You Probably Caught It:  As with most viruses, this type is frequently communicated through malicious email attachments. It's also important to pay attention to the prompts that pop up when installing new software.

  Tip: You’re going to have to accept the loss of your old files and reinstall the original program. For this reason, it's smart to have an antivirus software that backs up your files for you.
  
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  (#8) Polymorphic Virus

  What It Does: If you think it's totally normal that your computer keeps getting slower and slower, just wait until your whole system's corrupted and your computer's unusable thanks to these especially slippery viruses. A polymorphic virus changes its signature every time it replicates, avoiding detection and keeping you in the dark. There can be hundreds or thousands of different versions on your computer right now, slowing you down until you're at a standstill.

  How You Probably Caught It: Did you download an app from an unverified source or maybe illegally torrent a file? If your antivirus software and operating system aren't updated regularly, you're especially vulnerable to this type of infection.
  
  
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  (#6) Ransomware

  What It Does: Imagine everything on your computer being kidnapped and held for ransom. That’s exactly what ransomware does, locking you out of your own data and forcing you to pay hundreds of dollars by a non-negotiable deadline. If you miss the deadline, the decryption key is deleted and you lose everything. Even though it’s technically a Trojan Horse, not a virus, this malware is scary enough that you’ll want to protect against it.

  How You Probably Caught It: By downloading a file or application from an untrusted source. This sort of malware can also exploit weaknesses in your network security.

  Tip: In addition to taking care with downloads, take precautions like disabling remote desktop protocol (if you use a PC), filtering .EXEs in your email, showing hidden file extensions, and backing up frequently, preferably with a security product like Backup Exec.
  
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  (#7) Multipartite Virus

  What It Does: Does your screen look like it's melting? Does your hard drive keep reformatting itself? Are applications refusing to start up? Is your memory always insanely low? You might have a multipartite virus. These nasty numbers spread themselves by multiple means (hence the name), combining the worst of boot viruses and program viruses for maximum destruction. They’re notoriously difficult to eliminate once you’ve caught them.

  How You Probably Caught It: If you downloaded or installed a program infected with a multipartite virus, the malware kicked in either the first time you ran the application or the first time you booted your now-infected computer. Norton Antivirus should fix the problem, and help prevent future infections!

  
  

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