Symptoms of an infected computer:
- Slow system startup
- High CPU usage
- Unusual RAM/Memory usage
- Increased Network usage
- Frequent System hung up
- Blue Screen of death
Check the CPU and RAM usage. If you are running any applications or have any open applications, it is normal for the CPU usage to be high. Like if we start an application, then its process also runs. For E.g: chrome.exe, firefox.exe etc…
If resource usage remains high even when the system is idle and all applications are closed, it's necessary to investigate which process is utilizing those resources.
Check for processes with suspicious or unknown names, then there is a chance of it being a malware. Sometimes, the process svchost.exe may be using high CPU and RAM. As in most cases, this is not a virus, but there is a chance that it is infected. Scan your system using any Antivirus like Windows Defender, ESET, Kaspersky, Bitdefender etc…
If the scan results are negative, Google the process name to find the exact information on it. If it's an unknown process or marked as malicious on multiple sites, we can end this process by right-clicking it (Proceed with caution). A warning message will open, select yes.
After this, check if that process has any startup applications.
From Task Manager, select "Startup Apps" from left side panel.
Search for the process name in startup, which may be the malware. Disable it and restart your system.
If this does not stop the malware from startup then we have to find the file and delete it. Mostly it will be located in C:\Windows or C:\Windows\system32 (system drive).
If you can't find the malware file, just search the file name in My computer (This PC or File Manager).
Feel free to drop a comment if you're looking for more details!