Computer Viruses - What You Need to Know to Stay Safe

There are so many clever viruses out there now it can be hard to avoid getting a virus on your computer but if you do two things in particular, you can make sure that your computer stays free of the worst types of computer viruses.

The first place to start is with your e-mail. If you get attachments from people that you weren't expecting or didn't ask for then don't open them. An awful lot of the virus outbreaks you see around you are spread via e-mail. One small infection can get global in less than 24 hours.

Hand-in-hand with using common sense with your e-mail is installing a brand name antivirus software program. A good program can be set up so that it protects you fully from any virus infection and will fully protect your inbox. If you look at some of the more famous virus outbreaks like the Melissa virus it was spread by e-mail. When someone downloaded and opened the document, the virus then accessed the user's address book and sent copies of the documents along with the virus to the first 50 people in the hacked address book. Every computer that received the virus accessed the user's e-mail address book and sent out an additional 50 copies of the attachment.

The Melissa virus created a worldwide Internet slowdown that took only hours to spread. The second widespread virus was 2000's 'ILOVEYOU virus'. When people opened that e-mail with a double-click, the virus automatically sent copies of itself to every single e-mail address in the user's computer e-mail address book.

It cost billions to clear up the damage. All for the sake of having a decent anti-virus program installed on the users computers.

Anti-virus software

If you're concerned about receiving these infected e-mails, you should have anti-virus software installed on your computer. There's no excuse for running a computer without having some kind of anti-virus protection. You can get freeware antivirus software programs or you can buy commercial programs which can cost anywhere from $20 to $50 so as you can see you don't have to spend a fortune. Most antivirus software programs work by examining the files as they're added to the computer's memory and by scanning them later at a time that you set. They examine each e-mail attachment you've received and every file you downloaded looking for viruses and other unwelcome bits of code.

If they find a virus, the antivirus software program will notify you with a popup or warning of some kind. Infected attachments, programs, and other items will be cleaned of the virus. If it isn't possible to clean the virus out, the infected files can be removed or placed into a quarantine status so they can't be used or run. The worst possible outcome is that the files may need to be deleted - better to do this than risk an ongoing virus problem on your PC.

Because computer viruses create 'signatures', it's important that regular updates be installed to the antivirus software program. The updated files contain lists and characteristics of new signatures as they're created so each time the software runs its antivirus check, it can pick up any subtle nuances that might signify a virus. Almost all antivirus software programs can be set up to notify you when the virus software is out of date or when you need to update it. Actually most of them will update themselves automatically - most users forget to run the updates themselves.

People get a bit lazy when they install antivirus software. They might think that they're totally protected and don't need to worry about their computer becoming infected. They believe that the software is doing all the work for them. The reality is that there is still a little bit of work to do on your part even after you install your antivirus software.

New viruses appear all the time. Usually the anti-virus companies know about this and can protect your computer with a signature update. Now and again though a new virus will get loose and start infecting computers before anybody is ready to protect against it. Don't just assume your anti-virus package is going to keep you 110% safe - you still need to be proactive in keeping your computer secure.

Follow the usual guidelines: never open an attachment from somebody you don't know; only download software from trusted sources; and assume that every e-mail attachment, every website you visit, and every other program you come in contact with could be a potential security problem. As always, the message remains the same: be careful, be smart, and protect your data as you would your life.

Did you know there are hundreds of new viruses appearing every single week? If you're not using some kind of computer virus protection software you're going to wind up with a serious virus problem. Get educated on fighting computer viruses today @ http://www.CPUSecurity.com