Protect yourself
from Digital Infection and Virus free
Your computer is a very sophisticated
machine and it is more than capable of doing things
that you have never dreamed of. No matter what speed your
computer operates at, or its memory capacity, it is at
serious risk from the hidden threats that lurk underneath the
internet, yes, the dreaded computer virus.
Although incomparable to swine flu, a PC virus can wreak
havoc.
Do not underestimate the power of these rogue
programs, they can destroy all your vital information and even
render your hardware useless. Even the most astute computer
users can get caught out by a virus.
A computer virus is a program that
replicates itself, then seeks a new host to
infest.
The virus cannot exist on its own so it
attaches to another program, usually an executable one. Once
there it replicates itself and drops its deadly payload, this
can render your machine useless.
A worm is like a virus-it also
replicates itself. However, it can stand on its own and does
not need another program to operate from. It usually infects
your computer’s networking features, which includes your
internet connection.
Both of these can destroy your
information, and your good name by sending out spam by
the sack full.
Spyware and adware go
hand-in-hand. Spyware is a kind of program which gathers
information, specifically browsing habits. This is less
threatening but a real pain to get rid of. It tracks down what
kind of sites you visit, and the adware will generate ads that
fit with your interest which the spyware based on information
it gathered in the first place. You need to be an expert user
to clean your system once infected.
Malware is malicious software.
It’s any program that is useless, or worse, destructive. A
Trojan a program pretending to be good but once it’s deep in
your system it proves to be quite the opposite. Some of these
harmful beasts will silently connect your phone line to a
premium rate offshore number and run up a horrendous account,
you don't even realise until you get your bill.
In spite of all their differences, they
all have one thing in common: they are out to give you
headaches by rendering your computer unusable. Simply opening a
web page can infect your computer, it's that serious.
As your business grows, so does the value of
the information you store on it. Start right now to
protect your computer as much as possible from being
infected, here are four dangerous activities that you should
avoid, or at least minimize:
• Opening email
attachments
Do not open any email attachments until
they have been scanned by a good antivirus software. Worms
can spread through email, so even your
trusted friends can unwittingly send you one by way of an
attachment.
• Internet File-sharing
In file-sharing via the internet, also know as
P2P, your computer is exposed, and open to infiltration by the
others it is communicating with. If other computers’ files can
be transferred to yours, the same thing can be said about a
virus, if the others are infected.
• Downloading free software of
questionable origins
Free software is free for a reason, some of it
is great, but some is riddled with the aware equivalent of the
bubonic plague!
When you read the End User License
Agreement (EULA) of a software you are installing,
you should come upon a short and tiny clause saying that
if you agree to the terms, you could be allowing
annoying advertisements to pop up on your screen, or other,
nasty software to be installed in your system. So be
careful with what you download. Read product reviews and check
out the forums to find out if other people got headaches
from using it.
• Visiting ad-heavy
sites
If you visit a site and you’re immediately
bombarded with pop-up ads, leave immediately. These web sites
exist solely to sell ads by every means possible, the owners
have no scruples, so you might well click on an ad that
activates an automatic download of malicious software to your
computer.
Here is the minimum measure of
protection that you will need:
• Download a good antivirus software.
Going online without the protection of antivirus software is
like going out naked in a hurricane. That’s just how
vulnerable an unprotected computer is.
• Once you have installed your antivirus
software, set it to update your virus definitions daily, this
protects you from new and emerging strains of virus.
because it runs in the background, without disrupting your
computer, because many of these products can really slow your
system down, I recommend AVG Professional Single
Edition
• Whatever your operating system is, keep
it up to date, the market leader, Microsoft has an update site
here Windows Update.
• Most antivirus software packages, apart from
the kill virus features include an internet security
program (also known as firewall). A firewall acts as a
barricade between you and unwanted content from the
internet. When buying antivirus software, it’s better to
shell out for the internet security as well. Windows XP has
a built in firewall, use it!
• Whatever browser you are using, check that
its security settings are all in default unless you really know
what you are doing.
• Periodically delete files that you no longer
need, try C cleaner. This is a free
download and you can pay a donation if you want to, but it's
not compulsory. Originally titled crap cleaner, this handy
tool will do just what it says and quickly, clean off
the unwanted junk from your system. It takes just a few
seconds and is fully automatic.
• Back up all your important files all the
time, I've seen too many broken hearts over not implementing
this simple procedure, make it a habit.
Don’t be totally dependent on removal
tools and antivirus software packages, though. A bit
of prevention is always worth a megabyte of cure. The threat of
infection will never go away, so make sure you keep up to date
with your own security measures.
It is always good practice to alert your
friends to the virus warning, keeping their systems clean will
help to keep their emails clean too.
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