Is it possible to have a worm or virus on a pc that is not detectable by Symantec anti-viral software?

Question

I ask because my computer has gotten slow, even with fast websites like cnn.com.

Answer 1

Yes,Maybe.try a better one
There are top 5 anti-spywares reviews,comparisons and download links on

http://www.spyware-detectors.net

You can download and scan your PC for free.

Answer 2

Try Downloading Ccleaner (www.ccleaner.com) or you can go to start, run, and type these:

cookies
prefetch
temp

you can delete all of the files in those three folders

Also you can type msconfig and configure, start up and other things
Also clear your history every once and a while\
Do regular disk cleanups and make sure you do a disk defragment about once every month.

Go to start, control panel, performace and maintenance and press free up space on your hard disk. And rearrange items on your hard disk...

also delete old emails, files, documents, and uninstall any programs you dont use. Make sure you still have at least 30% of your hard disk as free space. Check this by going to start, my computer, right click on C; and press properties, it will show you a pie graph.

Also go to lavasoft.com, even the free (adaware se personal) finds alot of things. Yes it is possible for symantec to miss such things. Make sure you run full system scans and update the definitions as much as possible. Make sure you turn you computer off every once in a while to allocate RAM because it is used while your computer is on and alot of it isnt replaced even after applications are closed so once windows is shut down properly it reallocates the ram.

If you need an upgrade on a hard drive get at least an 80gb hard drive (seagate is the best)
If you need more ram get at least 1gb most brands are ok but some may not be compatible with your system and some will not work with what you have now.

Answer 3

Yes of course it is possible. The virus or worm could easily be a new one or a new variant that Symantec is not yet aware of or has a signature for.

never rely totally on one anti-anything for your PC protection.

Answer 4

There could be a couple of things slowing down your computer: it may not necessarily be a virus or spyware infection. Check out this page: http://www.mbusbyuk.info/basic_computer_maintenance.html and run the checks first.
Then, on the same site, check out the links page, scroll down to the bottom where you can find links to free online virus and spyware scans.
Good Luck!

Answer 5

I would recommend that you get rid of symantic, because of the large footprint that it leaves in your machine slowing it down in the first place. You should get NOD32 its much better, it has a more sophisticated on demand scanner. The antivirus software is like having 4 different programs in one specifically designed to do a certain kind of detection

Answer 6

No it should not be possible as I have all of Symantec on my computer and any unwanted stuff trying to come in gets blocked. And it is not even sent into my system. Just have your system checked out by a professional and maybe you have something in there that is slowing your system down.

Answer 7

Most certainly. Anti virus/spyware software run on defenitions which if not up to date could miss a virus/spyware.

I would suggest running many different spyware scans as they will probably all find different items.

Answer 8

if its a new virus/worm than a update will be released for it, until than you can be vulnable to it
depending on how its spreads etc...
some require a removal tool the bad ones
i would suggest getting adaware se personal
www.lavasoft.com
get update, reboot and do a full scan
a great spyware program, it could be the problem

Answer 9

Yes, but not likely. It's probably spyware.

You can do additional on-line web virus scans at Trend and (I think McAfee) to see if they pick up anything.

Answer 10

There are many other cause for a slow computer. For help as to what to do go here.
http://www.cleancomputerhelp.com/computer-tips-techniques