MTA On Line Self Help Page

How can I tell if I'm infected?

1. Depending on the Virus, Worm, Trojan, Hijacker, Spyware or Adware program you have... it depends.

2. You won't be able to detect the better ones but the poorly written programs are easier to spot.

Signs indicating the presence of some sort of Spyware/Adware or Shareware program on your computer are;

• Unexplained slowdowns or interruptions in your connections.
• Redirections to Web sites that were not the sites you requested.
• Your computer is slow to start up or begins to freeze or crash frequently.
• Browser irregularities such as unusual delays in loading pages or unexplained changes to your home page or list of favorite sites.
• Searches and links don't work as expected.
• A proliferation of pop-up advertisements when you visit sites that wouldn’t normally generate them.

Some common signs of a Virus infection are:

• Your system slows down. This can be especially noticeable if your machine is connected to a network
• You see activity on your machine that you did not cause. For example, a disc drive light constantly flashing when you're not using the computer.
• Data files become corrupted or are missing
• Programs such as Microsoft Word or Excel display a message advising that the file you're trying to load is not in the correct format
• Unexpected changes to the content of files.
• Programs do not run, or function incorrectly.
• Your computer may reboot or display the "Illegal Operation" Screen.
• An antivirus program is disabled for no apparent reason and cannot be restarted.
• An antivirus program cannot be installed on the computer or it will not run.
• Strange dialog boxes or message boxes appear onscreen.
• Strange dialog boxes or message boxes appear onscreen.
• New icons appear on the desktop that you did not put there, or are not associated with any recently installed programs
• Strange sounds or music plays from the speakers unexpectedly
• A program disappears from the computer, but you did not intentionally remove it
• Windows will not start at all, even though you have not made any system changes, and you have not installed or removed any programs.
• Windows will not start because certain critical system files are missing, and then you receive an error message that lists the missing files
• There is much modem activity. If you have an external modem, you may notice the lights blinking too much when the modem is not being used. You may be unknowingly supplying pirated software.
• The computer sometimes starts as expected, but at other times it stops responding before the desktop icons and taskbar appear.
• The computer runs very slowly, and it takes a long time to start.
• You receive out-of-memory error messages even though your computer has ample RAM.
• New programs do not install correctly.
• Windows spontaneously restarts unexpectedly.
•  rograms that used to run stop responding frequently. If you try to remove and reinstall the software, the issue continues to occur.
• A disk utility such as Scandisk reports multiple serious disk errors.
• You cannot start Windows Task Manager.

Some common signs you are NOT infected;

• A pop up window saying you are infected.
• Any external program you have not specifically installed saying you are infected.

The Team

Next, how can I protect myself?