Viruses or malware are not just the most common, but also the most dangerous threat that your computer faces on a day to day basis. Nothing else in the world of computers can harm your system as seriously or as constantly as a virus attack. While most viruses slow down your system, cause hang ups and generally make your system misbehave, they have also been known to cause hard disk crashes while spy ware has been instrumental in almost all online fraud and money related scams.
Protecting your computer from viruses can not only save your data, it can also save you a lot of money…which could either be lost to fraudsters and identity thieves or as your computer technician’s fees. You can easily guard your computer against viruses simply by being a little prudent and cautious.
Some simple steps that you can follow to keep your computer virus free for a long long time are:
Be Current: Having your software updated, especially your operating system and anti virus program, goes a long way in keeping you safe from viruses. Since new malware is created and distributed every day, your anti virus program amounts to nothing if it is not updated daily.
Scan Your Hard Disk All The Time: Running a full scan of your computer is not possible every other day, since it takes a long time. However, you should try and run a full scan almost every week. This will generally clean out weak viruses that generally slow down your system. At times, you may also catch a big fish! If you suspect you are already infected, then quickly update your anti virus software and run a scan before you shut down your system. This is important because most well written viruses become immune to scans once you shut down and restart your operating system.
Scan Some More: With most of us using flash drives and external hard disk drives almost all the time, the chances of getting infected are very high. Every time you use someone else’s external drive on your computer, scan it with your antivirus. Make sure that every file you open or install is first checked by your anti virus program. As a corollary, scan your own external hard disks and flash drives after they have been plugged into someone else’s system.
Stay Walled In: All common operating systems ranging from Windows to Macintosh have built in firewalls that protect your computer from invasion. If you have an internet enabled computer, it is essential to keep your firewall turned on at all times to prevent being invaded within minutes. At the same time, it is a good idea to turn off the internet if you are not using it since many persistent viruses keep trying to break through your firewall and some eventually succeed.
Don’t Open Email Attachments: The last celebrity, well known and highly damaging virus, the I Love You worm, distributed itself through email. While all of us are tempted to open email attachments that say—“ Must Watch Angelina Jolie, Never Before Released Pics” or “Paris Hilton Sex Video”, the prudent course of action here is to delete the email from your inbox and then from your trash. Even if these emails are from a source you trust, remember that most viruses today send themselves through email automatically, so delete or at least scan before opening any attachment that comes with a .exe, .com or .vbt extension . Your source will not even know that he has sent you a virus through email. Other things to stay away from are Nigerians promising to share half of their fortune with you, Google and AOL promising to give you $20 for each email forward that you send and any other mails with “ too good to be true” text or attachments. While all of them may not be viruses, many of them are phishing scams you should stay away from.
Stop Using Freeware And Shareware: There are thousands of viruses disguised as good freeware programs that are making the rounds on the internet. Do not be surprised if a free anti virus program that you downloaded from just any site turns out to be a virus that crashes your hard disk. Similarly, downloading through peer to peer applications like Limewire, Bittorrent, Frostwire, Cabos and Kazaa is another way of welcoming viruses into your system. Similarly free music and movie downloads, free porn and free games may often turn out to be viruses, and should be avoided at all costs if you want to remain virus free.
Stop Clicking On Everything: Links on social networking sites often turn out to lead to viruses. Another way through which these malware programs enter your system is through SEO attacks. These programs change search engine result links in a way that redirects users to sites that are virus hubs. Clicking on pop up ads, links on questionable sites and on Facebook, Twitter and Orkut can often invite viruses into your system.
Switch From Windows: If you are using a version of Windows as your operating system, then you are most vulnerable to virus attacks, not because there is anything wrong with Windows as such, but being the most popular operating system in use makes it the most attractive target for virus creators. It is no fun laboring on a virus that can affect only a small number of users when you can create one that will wreak major havoc. Using a Linux or a Macintosh operating system greatly reduces your chances of getting infected to almost nil.
Remember, all these above tips are applicable only when you have a good quality, updated anti virus program already installed on your computer. If you cannot afford to buy one right now, then check out our list of the best free anti virus downloads on How To Make Your PC Virus Free For Free. By adhering to all the rules given above, you can ensure that your computer remains virus free forever.
