• Your computer “feels” different
  
  Like when you walk into a room and something just “feels” different without you knowing what exactly the difference is, your computer may be running differently than usual.
     
• Unexpected or excessive network use
  
  A computer compromise is often useless unless it can report back to somewhere or distribute itself to other computer and this requires network access. If you notice that there is unexpected network use, or your network connection becomes slower with no warning, you should take steps to see what may be causing the traffic issues.
     
• Programs running without you starting them or not running when you DO start them.
  
  Malicious software will run without you knowing it. Makers of some of this software know that what they are making is detrimental to your computer and will often try to run their programs surreptitiously, hiding as best they can all ways of detecting the software.
  
  Additionally, makers of malware want to make it as difficult to remove their software as possible. For this reason, you may be unable to start some programs that detect or remove that type of software
     
• Sudden drop in performance
  
  A computer compromise will often try to do as much as it can with the available system it is working with. This is to lessen the amount of time it takes to perform tasks, and increase the amount of harm, before a compromise is detected. This will often cause a dramatic drop in your computers performance because the attack is attempting to use as much of the computer resources that it can.
     
• Your web browser doesn't go where you expect it to
  
  Because malware is often associated with advertising revenue, when you attempt to navigate the internet, you may be forced to view or may be redirected to advertising pages. These sites are specifically triggered by the malware installed on your computer, and are typical identifiers of your computer being affected by malware.
  

If you believe or merely suspect that your computer has been compromised, is performing strangely, or may be affected by malware, contact the Ohio University Help Desk at (740)593-1222 for assistance. The Help Desk team will be able to assist you in diagnosing the problem and restoring your computer to better health and performance.