If you were a computer user in the late 1980s, virus infections would not have been a major concern for you. However, by the mid 1990s virus infections had become common place and this trend has worsened with the arrival of always on broadband internet.
Why is this a problem? Simply put, viruses arrive on your computer not to lay idle, but to do a job of their own. This is called the virus payload. In nearly every case, this payload will have some kind of negative impact on you, the computer user. Typical payloads include: to make the infected PC send out spam e-mail to others, to damage the host computer making it unreliable/unusable, to collect information that could be used for identity fraud or to frighten users into buying fake antivirus applications. The bottom line is that virus infections should be kept out of your PC in the first place. Prevention is much easier than virus removal, so where should you start? Below are some valuable virus prevention steps that you can take now.
Now is the time to get some antivirus software. Not just any software will do nowadays, so you should do some research or get a trusted recommendation for a really effective strong antivirus program. Antivirus software will form the first line of defence against virus attacks, so choose carefully. Most of the free antivirus products are not doing a great job at preventing infection this year, so be prepared to pay for some decent software. This will be much cheaper than having your local computer shop reinstall your Operating System!
As well as decent antivirus software, another vital part of your security strategy should be updating. You should update not only Windows istself but also other applications that you use like Java and Flash. This is because older versions of software often contains small faults (security vulnerabilities) that can easily be exploited by virus authors and hackers. If you leave these things unpatched, you are asking for trouble so make sure you spend some time each month getting the latest versions of your software installed.
Antispyware software has always been one of the traditional ‘absolute necessitys’ when it comes to good internet security. The reality is that moden antivirus software, no matter how good, cannot possible detect all of the various established and emerging malware. It therefore needs help and this is where a competent antispyware software will come into its own. Do you research to find the best antispyware and get it installed as soon as possible.
Finally, learn a bit about safe surfing and be smart about where you visit and what you click on. You will likely already know some basics. Dont open e-mail attachment from someone your dont know, dont interact with pop-ups warning you about security issues (they are usually scams), dont visit porn or warez sites, as they are breeding grounds for malware infectors, dont click on links that are displayed as a numeric IP number and not as a domain & download software only from trusted sites. However there are many more new tricks to learn, so be alert to new things and read up on the subject every few months. Google is your friend for research!
Follow all of this advice and you will have a much better chance of staying virus free for longer.
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