Sometimes, security issues aren’t recognized right away, because it’s difficult to tell the difference between your computer’s everyday quirks and things caused by a security problem.
The following are some potential signs that your computer may be infected with malware, such as a virus, worm, or other software that allows someone to control your computer remotely.
Learn to recognize potential signs that your computer has been compromised:
- Your antivirus software, anti-spyware software, or personal firewall reports a problem.
- When browsing the web, you see lots of popup windows, or your web browser takes you to different sites than expected.
- Your computer seems slower than usual, crashes more often, or runs out of disk space unexpectedly.
If any of the above has occurred on your computer, please immediately disconnect it from the network and contact your local IT person, if you aren’t sure who that is than e-mail me at jar97@cornell.edu.
Be aware that the only solution for getting rid of malware may be to reinstall all of your computer’s software. For more information, see www.cit.cornell.edu/security/respond/wipeclean.cfm.
The above information was taken directly from the Cornell Security Handbook (Chapter 2), which can be viewed by going to: http://www.it.cornell.edu/security/