It is 7:00 p.m. on Sunday night. You look at the clock and realize that your research paper is due TOMORROW! You have completed most of the research and have it all saved in your computer. Well, I have enough time (you say to yourself). You then proceed to sit in your computer with a glass of apple juice and a ham and cheese sandwich. To your surprise, you realize that something is wrong. Your computer begins crashing repeteadly, pop-ups begin to appear and your sister starts calling you that she is receiving weird messages from you. At that time, you place both hands on each sife of your head and scream," I cannot believe this, is my computer infected"? Sadly but truly, the answer is yes.

Please see 13 signs that will let you know that your computer has been infected.

• Computer pace is slower.
• Bothersome ads begin to display.
• Computer Crashes become frequent.
• Pop-up messages start to appear.
• Suspicious increase in Internet traffic is observed.
• Browser settings change without your knowledge.
• Rare messages are presented in an unexpected matter.
• Friends and relatives begin receiving strange messages.
• Unknown icons are displayed in your desktop.
• Control Panel cannot be accessed.
• Errors are displayed in your browser page and you are later redirected to other sites.
• Suspicious shortcut files are received.

Under certain circumstances installed antivirus software may be able to remove infectious files. For instances under which it is not possible, professional assistance from a qualified computer technician may be necessary.