It can be difficult to tell if your computer is infected with adware, as the malicious software often works in the background without any noticeable effect. However, there are a few ways you can check for signs of a potential infection.
One of the most common indicators of an adware infection is a sudden increase in intrusive pop-up ads and notifications on your web browser or system. If you suddenly start noticing advertisements appearing on websites that did not previously have them, this could be an indication that there is some malicious software at work. Additionally, if you find yourself being redirected to unfamiliar sites when trying to visit certain websites, it may be due to an adware infection.
Another way to check for adware infections is by running scans with anti-malware programs such as Windows Defender or Malwarebytes. These programs will scan your system and alert you if they detect any suspicious activity or files that could indicate an infection from malicious software like adware. It’s important to keep these anti-malware programs up-to-date so they can identify the latest threats in order to protect your computer from becoming infected with these types of malware.
Finally, another way to determine whether your computer has been infected with adware is by closely monitoring its performance over time and looking out for any sudden changes such as slower loading times or unexpected crashes. If you notice anything unusual happening while using your machine, it may be worth running additional scans with anti-malware programs just in case something has been missed during previous scans.