Computers 101: Protect Your Computer Against Viruses

In the early days of personal computers the fear of a machine getting infected with a virus was very low. After all, the internet wasn’t widely used in most areas and there were no websites to visit. Fast forward a decade and the story is much different. Virus attacks are common place, and the number of people losing their machines continues to go up.

As we look deeper into this problem, we will be able to see the primary reason why so many computers can become infected with a virus. This is due to the advent of high speed internet. Most people in industrialized countries especially in Northern America use high speed internet access. This faster access allows people to go to a lot of sites quicker, and unfortunately, this will also allow quicker downloads of unauthorized programs.

When the only form of internet access people had was dial up it would often take several minutes to download a small file. Any viruses or software trying to forcefully download themselves could be seen, and in some cases stopped. As download speeds increased it became almost impossible to stop an unwanted download. This led companies to develop pop up blockers and spam blockers to combat these threats.

Of course high speed internet isn’t the cause of the problem; it’s simply the delivery medium. Viruses and other malicious software were developed by people who hated certain operating system manufacturers. Some just enjoy making programs to destroy people’s computers. Of course the main threat has evolved from destruction to identity theft. This is usually accomplished by spyware infiltrating your system and monitoring your keystrokes.

Site names and passwords are being recorded, the collected data is sent to its creators. The information is used for identity theft for related crimes. This can be prevented with the installation of an antivirus software suite. It also helps to have antispyware, adware, and malware programs installed for a full range of protection. There are programs that you can download on the internet for free, though they are legitimate and easy to use, paid suites have all programs in one.

Some people are hesitant to purchase paid antivirus suites because most can come with a price. But if you take a good look at the $80.00USD for the program suite to the $400.00USD it would cost you to have your computer restored, the choice isn’t hard to make. Free and legitimate antivirus program suites can also help you to protect your computer from unwanted breakdowns. You can get the lowdown of these programs by the ratings they receive on websites and review articles.

These days, protecting your computer is becoming a full time job. Threats from viruses, spyware, adware, malware, pop ups, spam, and a host of other problems are lurking in every corner on cyberspace. Luckily there are ways to protect your machine and yourself from frustration. Always keep in mind to practice safe internet browsing when surfing the web.

This consists of not clicking on suspicious links, and not opening fishy emails. Make sure to have a firewall if you use high speed internet. Often the built in firewall of your operating system just isn’t good enough to protect you. Last but not least, remember to back up your important data every week just in case.

Dorthy Weatherbush keeps her computer healthy and in good working order by using Webroot. She gets anti-virus software, spy sweeper and much more with Webroot so she doesn’t worry about her computer getting swine flu! This and other unique content ” articles are available with free reprint rights.

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