I have an issue with my laptop (Toshiba Satellite) with Windows 8 built in. Since 2 days I couldn't play any videos or music (Youtube,Jango radio,ecc). I also noticed that Skype isn't working anymore, is always loading but I am not actually able to log in. Explorer or Google chrome are very very slow, always showing the same error (page irresponsive, Internet Explorer is not responding). I have a health monitor which indicates no issues whatsoever, as well as I didn't download any new programs/did new things with my laptop than the ussual ones. Could it be a virus? I am actually without one as I need to renew it and can't screen the system.

If your antivirus is outdated, remove it ASAP and let the built-in Windows Defender take care of it for you. You already have Defender included, but it won't work if something extra is installed, so be sure you remove the outdated antivirus program first.


Yes, it could be a virus. If you are running without an antivirus program, you are playing with fire. You say you need to renew it, and that suggests that it's one you need to pay for. Is it perhaps Norton or McAfee, two of the most popular? If it's one of those, in my view, and that of lots of others of us here, it's among the poorest anti-virus products on the market. You would be better off with the built-in Windows Defender, or the free Avast or Avira.