How to Avoid Nasty and Destructive Computer Viruses

Users desiring more PC security will benefit from the additional services to install Norton software and online install Norton antivirus support due to Symantec's new acquisitions, according to its recent releases. Companies providing antivirus support for users to activate McAfee, provide support for McAfee or even to download McAfee antivirus will also become more valuable as a result of these developments:

 By Niall Roche 

Computer viruses have become more sophisticated over the years. They have also become more common and not something that can be ignored except at your own risk. It's very important for computer users to know how to avoid computer viruses. If possible an anti-virus program should be on your computer from the second you buy it. Try to make sure you have some kind of anti-virus protection on your computer before you ever even go online.

One mistake a lot of people make is opening e-mails from people they don't know. It's very important to not do this, especially if the e-mail has an attachment with it. These attachments, the majority of the time, tend to be viruses of one kind or another. Once you open the e-mail with this virus attachment, you instantly activate the virus and unless you're using good anti-virus software you're going to be cleaning up this mess for a while.

People often browse the Internet to download software of one kind or another. The types of software can vary from games, music, videos, wallpapers to screensavers etc. Unfortunately a lot of freeware is crammed with hidden viruses which infect your computer once you download them. When downloading freeware you may in fact be downloading adware, spyware or viruses or a combination of all of them.

All of these pose a threat to your computer. Adware is programmed to shower the computer user with pop-up ads and junk mail. Spyware is quite similar but with the added threat of sending your personal information back to its creator. Viruses are the worst of the bunch. Viruses can do incredible amounts of damage; this includes possibly wiping everything that is on your hard drive.

Like with many things in life, prevention is better than cure. As previously mentioned an anti-virus program is the first step that you should take in any computer security setup. It's important to get your anti-virus from a reputable company such as McAfee, Norton or Panda for example. Another option is to download the anti-virus from a legitimate website like Avast or AVG. You must be sure the website is one that can be trusted and that reviews for the program are positive from more than just one person. Always read the reviews. The reviews are very important. It's not uncommon for the creators of viruses to also create anti-virus programs that they offer for free. Once these fake anti-virus programs are installed they can cause serious damage by infecting your system with multiple viruses.

Another very important factor is finding a tool which is upgradable. Every day the creators of viruses are updating and creating brand new threats to make your life a misery. It's important to have a tool that can keep up with this constant battle. Daily upgrades are now possible and very much advised if you want to keep your computer secure and virus free.

Do you know how much damage a single computer virus infection can do to your system? 75% of companies who suffer a serious virus infection go out of business within 12 months - that's how serious the threat is. Protect yourself from computer viruses and more by clicking here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Niall_Roche/46