Some people, called hackers, have also used the Internet as a tool to destroy valuable information, or tamper with people's private accounts. Viruses have turned on a rampage in the Internet many times before. Unsuspecting people using the Internet may not be aware that the software they are downloading is loaded with a Trojan or a worm virus. Some software also contain spyware or malware, which either harvests private information and sends it to a hacker online, or is a ticking bomb that slowly destroys the computer.
One symptom which indicates that your computer has been infected by a virus is when the Internet connection is so slow. One possible reason is that the computer system might have been infected by a virus or spyware, taking up a lot of bandwidth, and allowing a hacker to gain access to the computer users private information stored on the hard drive. Another possibility is that an unauthorized browser might have been downloaded with the computer user's knowledge or consent. These BHOs or browser helper objects takes up a lot of diskspace and bandwidth, thereby slowing down the computer's processing speed and internet connection.
The worst case scenario for a slow Internet connection is the presence of an unwanted computer worm in the program. While computer virus infects the software programs, causing inconvenience in the system's function, a computer worm can lead to a complete system failure. A similar incident happened at the University of Pittsburgh campus in Johnstown. A worm virus has infected the computer labs, and its Internet access has been in a virtual standstill. This has prompted school officials to closed down computer lab operations. However, it is fortunate that no vital data has been lost from the students' computers. Similar accounts seemed to be pretty common in other companies and in other parts of the world.
