warning signs

* Frequent pop-ups and unwanted advertisements.

* A change in your browser's home page or search pages.

* Poor system performance such as slow starting programs, programs that frequently hang, frequent system crashes, and slow start up and shutdown.

* Frequent hard drive activity or frequently seeing the "hourglass" cursor while the system is idle.

* Unusually slow Internet connection speeds.

* Apparent network traffic while you are not actively browsing the Internet.

* Web pages that are slow to load and then appear all at once.

* Unknown icons or shortcuts appearing in your system tray, desktop, or start menu.

* New buttons or toolbars appearing in your browser.

* The inability to load specific web sites that you know exist.

* The inability to run specific programs, specifically antivirus or anti-spyware programs.

* Frequent unknown error messages suggesting either invalid memory access or that your system has an infection.