In our previous article, we discussed the most common malicious software hackers use to control our
devices but sometimes we don’t even know that an action we took in the past had introduced these
malwares into our devices, the following points are useful tips on ways to detect an infected device:

1) Slow central processing unit operations: your device suddenly starts to lag, actions that
normally take seconds to execute starts to take minutes. Terms like “my phone is hanging” is
what we usually describe this as. It may just be that your system has been hit by a cybercriminal.
2) Sudden system crash or a blank screen: you can agree that this is the worst that can happen to
any device, total system takeover that leads to loss of data housed in your device may cause
irreversible damage to your normal day to day operations.
3) Presence of applications that was not installed by the user: you may notice some new apps on
your device that were not there before, this is a clear sign that a malicious party has gained
remote access to the operating system of your device, and which allows them send requests
unauthorized by you.
4) Rapid device battery rundown: your device’s battery life that could last a whole day suddenly
starts going off in a few hours even when it’s barely being utilized.
5) Inability to use previously accessible files in a system: you notice that some of your stored files
don’t open, or some apps don’t work like they used to.
6) Email sent without a user’s consent: sometimes unwanted parties can remotely send mails
containing malware to your contacts masking as a legitimate mail using your identity.
7) Constant browser redirections to unvisited sites: your internet sessions constantly get
interrupted by site switches to pages you haven’t visited in the past.
8) Difficulty in shutting down or restarting a system: switching off your device becomes an
impossible fit. Sometimes you may even have to opt for a hard reset which means taking out
battery of your device to force a restart.