Why Is My Computer Acting Up Is It A Virus Or Is It Malware Or Just Wear And Tare.

Does shutting off a computer do any damage to it? I always shut it down at the end of the day, but was recently informed that "that's probably not good for it".

Depends on how you “shut it off”. What is shutting off? There’s flipping the power switch off and there’s the power down sequence driven by the operating system “Shut Down” command.Just throwing a power switch on the back of the PC or the holding the Power switch on the front for 5 seconds or throwing the switch on the power strip are “hard” power offs. They remove the power from the power supply and the operating system gets no warning and the CPU just stops doing whatever it was doing.Modern PCs are always busy even if you are not doing anything. They periodically update software, they move files to defrag, they scan for viruses and a whole bunch of ther stuff. Interrupting it while its writing stuff to disk can corrupt the disk and the directory making your data irretrievable. The writes are brief and intermittent and short but if you abruptly shut down the PC, it’s like Russian roulette, sooner or later you will crash something.The proper way to shut off a PC is to go to the Windows thingy and do a shut down command - the operating system then knows and finishes all operations, stops writing, and then commands the power supply off. This is the “soft” power off. You then use the pushbutton power switch on the front to start it up again.Hard shutdown is now probably 99% good , but just when you need it to work… that 1% will get you.Now, if you are worried about wear and tear, then its debatable. On-off cycles can theoretically be hard on a computers life, leaving it on using the power save modes is the alternative. Me, mine is on 24/7.

Why is my computer alot slower than when I first bought it?

Generally there are three causes to a computer appearing to slow down over time.Virii/Malware: It is possible that at some point you acquired a virus or malware which is zapping your computer's speed and memory. Make sure you are running a current and updated antivirus/antimalware program from a notable vendor like Malwarebytes, Symantec or McAfee.Bloatware/Software: As you use your computer over time, software that you use and install add tasks which run in the background, such as Google Chrome's update program or Microsoft's Office Updater. These tasks run in the background and take up CPU cycles and Memory. To see all the tasks that run, (assuming you are running Windows) in the search box type Task Scheduler and press return. When you open the program you can see a list of all the background tasks that run and when. Unless you know what you are doing, I would advise not tinkering with these.Wear and tear: over time the CPU and Memory chips as well as the hard drive and motherboard will experience wear down as a result of regular use. To confirm this I would suggest going in to the Internet and doing a search for benchmark software. Install it and run it and allow it to measure your computer's abilities. If you see any serious drops in ability from those levels that were promised when you bought the computer (this information can also be found from the manufacturers website) then it is likely that one or more components is nearling a point of failure and you should consider upgrading that component or the entire system as a part of your regular maintenance routine.I hope this helps!

Is it bad for my computer if I run 2 viruses scans a day?

Is it bad? No. Is it helpful? Probably not provided you are using a security solution that has real-time monitoring, so it is effectively overkill if you are using a single product.As an example, my most at-risk Windows machine runs Norton with it’s real-time features and firewall enabled. When it was first installed, I ran a full scan of the system. Since then, I have not run any manual scans of any type. I just let the real-time scanning of the files happen normally.That same machine also has the free version of Malwarebytes installed. Since it is the free version, it does not allow me to enable the real-time scanning (which can sometimes be counterproductive since I have another product already doing that job). But, I run a manual scan once a month after updating its database.I have been running in this type of configuration for years and have yet to have a single infection or even end up with one piece of malware downloaded to any of my drives. Though you must also consider that there are other barriers to this between my internet connection and that particular machine.

What causes computers to slow down?

Reasons why your computer might be slow:[ #1 Bloatware softwares ]These are the softwares that get installed along with the programs you install. You don’t intend to install them but they somehow do get installed. These consume your hardware resources(RAM, CPU, Hard-disk & even Network).[ #2 Fragmented Hard-disk ]Whenever you delete something from your computer it causes fragmentation which could lead to longer loading time for programs, applications and other data files such as movies etc.[ #3 Lots of startup programs & Services ]When your computer starts some services(daemons) needs to be run to provide some functionality such as network access, media access etc. whenever you install new software program they do also have services and programs attached to system startup. They keep consuming the resources no matter you often uses the software or not with whom they are attached.[ #4 Any program(s) using resources to its extreme ]If you face issue like your system is freezing it could be caused by any running software consuming your resources to its extreme. Check usage of Disk, RAM, CPU in task manager.[ #5 Paging file ]Low size of paging file also reduces performance of your system.[ #6 Low h/w configuration & running lots of apps/softwares simultaneously ]Say if you just have 2GB of ram have opened lot of programs like Google-Chrome, Photoshop, Some media players etc. then it could slow down your system.[ #7 Infected/Invalid/Corrupted Windows Registry ]If you or some programs messed up with windows registry then it could slow down your system seriously[ #8 Lots of files on desktop ]Our desktop is meant to hold the Shortcut Icons(could be of software/application or folder/file). Whenever the OS boots up and your desktop is being made ready; All the stuff in the desktop is loaded into RAM. So it is advisable not to put heavy files and stuff other than shortcuts on your’s desktop.Here is snapshot of mine desktop:Notice i created shortcut for the heavy folders instead of directly putting them on the desktopPS: It’s ok to put few files over there as i too have but don’t let the whole sum of the sizes over 10 MB or so.Edit #1— Following changes were made:Some spelling mistakes were correctedFew more points were added.#8

What is a bitcoin miner virus?

The term "Bitcoin-mining malware" is used to refer to malware that cybercriminals use to install Bitcoin miners in users' systems. These allow cybercriminals to utilize systems' computing resources for their own gain.Most Bitcoin mining malware arrive via malicious downloads or through social media. Exploitation of system and/or application vulnerabilities may also lead to infection.The Bitcoin mining process eats up a system's computing power. As such, infected systems sustain increased wear and tear from processing Bitcoin exchange blocks. Infected systems work abnormally slow. Even though Bitcoin-mining malware do not appear to target specific individuals, cybercriminals may choose to infect systems with highly capable graphic processing units (GPUs) or video cards, as these process Bitcoins faster.Safety Methods for Bitcoin Miner Virus:Do not download and install applications from unknown sites.Be wary of clicking shortened links on Twitter or any other site, regardless of source. URL shortening makes it difficult for a user to gauge a link’s legitimacy.Sudden unexplained system slowdown may indicate Bitcoin mining. Check it for clues of Bitcoin-mining malware infection like an unexplained increase in processing power usage.Invest in a security solution that can detect and prevent Bitcoin-mining malware from infecting your system.