Once we use the internet, there is the possibility of our computers being exposed to the threat of viruses. No matter how sophisticated an antivirus program we may have is, viruses have been known to seep through. It is important, though, to know what signs to look out for just in case an infection has proliferated on our computer. Knowing them can be the difference between saving a computer from early or having to salvage what is left of your files and hardware. Here are a few things to look out for (these problems can also be caused by other factors but these are mainly associated with a virus infestation):

- The computer suddenly becomes sluggish while in operation
- The CPU Usage Monitor (Ctrl+Alt+Del then Task Manager then Performance tab) shows 100% usage when you are doing nothing
- The operating system takes forever to load, or never loads at all
- Opening a program proves to be very time consuming
- The mouse pointer starts behaving irratically and moves by itself
- Keyboard lights go on and off by themselves without user intervention
- Your antivirus program trips in very frequently advising you of a threat on your machine
- When saving documents, either it refuses to save or takes a very long time
- The computer keeps shutting down without user or timed inervention
- When you turn the computer on, once it reaches the Windows (or Mac) screen during bootup, it just keeps restarting
- Programs and files on your machine suddenly “disappear” (they were there the day before and you did not remove them)
- You see programs installed on your machine that you did not put there

The list above is in no way exhausted as there are many other things you can look out for. It is still essential to install an antivirus program, nonetheless. And always ensure that its virus signatures are up to date.