How can I tell if my PC has caught a virus?

Your PC or Laptop might become slow, or do strange things.  You may find that some programs don’t work, crash or give error message.  The PC or Laptop might not even load windows correctly, constantly re-boot itself, or give you a Blue Screen with an error code.

My screen is blank; I can’t see my icons when I turn my PC on?

If you’re Monitor (screen) is blank / black check the cables are plugged in and the screen is turned on.  Most Monitors have a small LED near the power button on the front, if this is lit, then it’s not a power problem.  The usual colour of the LED is green / yellow when it is working correctly, and orange when it is not.  This could be a fault with the Monitor, the PC, the settings that the PC has been told to display at, or the data cable to the PC.  The data cable is easy to test, make sure it is plugged in. 

My PC takes ages to load; it used to be much faster

If this problem has only just happened, your problem could be caused by many things, including a virus / malicious software, or a hardware fault with the PC itself.  If the problem has happened slowly over time, then chances are it just needs to have a good file clean-up.

Can’t connect to my wireless network?

Shut down and turn off all computers on the network. Unplug the router and wait for 1 minute then plug the router back in. Wait until the lights stop flashing on the router and turn on any computer on the network.

How to boot in safe mode?

When you power on the machine the usual button to press is F8. If this doesn’t work try tapping F5. From powering up the machine keep tapping F8 and will bring you to a page with options for booting into safe mode. Choose safe mode with networking and the machine will boot up to the login screen and allow you to log in as normal in safe mode.