Computer viruses are a mystery if you're not an Information Technology (IT) professional. They don't always come from obvious mistakes, and many computer users become frustrated or even afraid of using the computer in the future. As you read a few computer virus solutions and details, understand that it's not that serious, because there's an IT services expert ready to help if you're stumped.

Why Do Computer Viruses Exist?

This won't be a discussion of where the first virus came from, but rather the reason they exist in the first place. Some exist to cause mischief, while most exist to either increase ad revenue or steal money and identity from their victims--but the threat only works if you fall completely for all of their tricks.

The most common form of harmful virus pretends to be a legitimate program that you might use. It may be a virus removal program, or it might be a slightly off-looking mock-up of a program you want to use.

When programs ask for money, don't click anything in the program itself. You should only buy programs from the legitimate, official website of the program, and you should ask an IT expert if you're not sure what that is. If you pay a fake antivirus program to remove viruses, you're just giving money to hackers who may just keep asking for money while making your situation worse.

The less nefarious, but still annoying viruses are just trying to move their products to more users or get paid from advertisers. These viruses will cause ads to pop up on your computer either completely out of nowhere or as you browse the internet. 

Unfortunately, there's no way to tell which version is stealing your information to use behind your back, and it's likely that both are ready to take what they can.

Technical Analysis Of Virus Threats

Aside from over programs and pop-up advertisements, viruses will show up in your computer's list of active processes. Windows uses the Task Manager to view processes, while Apple's Mac OSX-brand systems use the similar Activity Monitor.

New or non-technical users may be overwhelmed when they clicked the processes tab, since it often includes anywhere from 60-150 processes depending on what you have running. This is normal, as your operating system (OS, such as Windows or OSX) have around 40-60 processes running just to exist as a functional computer, while every other program/application you have running is one or more processes.

Many processes may look like a set of random letters, but they're actually abbreviations or acronyms. Unfortunately, virus developers often make legitimate-looking processes for their viruses to fool the less experienced.

What do you do with all of these confusing processes? The first step for any modern technician is to use a search engine. Google it, as in look up the processes and figure out what they are. You don't need to do this all of the time, but being familiar with what should be running is an easy way to filter out the fakes. Feel free to ask around the internet in places such as BleepingComputer to figure out a process that doesn't show up in searches. 

Still too overwhelming? Technicians skilled in IT services in your area or even from innovative tech firms can help you fix the problem while showing you the symptoms. To learn more about virus threats while protecting your computer, contact an IT professional, such as those at Aarya Systems, and be ready to upgrade your tech knowledge.