Computers 101: Protect Your Computer Against Viruses
Monday, 07 December 2009 10:02 | 
Written by Dorthy Weatherbush |
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.
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.
What are the reasons for this you ask? Well the answer is very simple when you think about it. The primary reason that so many computers can become infected with a virus is because of the advent of high speed internet. Most people in North America and other industrialized countries use high speed internet access. This allows people to go to a greater amount of sites quicker, and also allows unauthorized downloads to finish quicker.
In the salad days of the dial-up connection if would take several minutes to download a small file. Viruses that want access to computers by forcefully downloading itself could be detected and in some cases stopped. As today's internet download speed increased several folds, it is almost impossible to stop malicious downloads. This led to the development of the famous pop-up and spam blockers to make computers safe against these threats.
High speed internet isn't the only cause for this problem; it's simply with the delivery medium. Malicious software and viruses were created by people who hated certain operating manufacturers. Although, some just enjoy making programs to make other people computer experience unpleasant. The main threat however is that this threat has evolved from destruction to identity theft. This is usually done by spyware infiltrating you system and monitoring your keystrokes.
Site names and passwords are being collected, the data are then sent to its creators. The information is used for identity theft for related crimes. This makes an installation of an antivirus software suite essential for safe computer operation. It is also quite helpful to have antispyware, adware, and malware programs installed for a tight protection. You can download services such as these online for free. Though some are legitimate and easy to use, paid suites have all programs bundled 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.
Protecting your computer is becoming a full time job these days. There are constant threats from viruses, spyware, adware, malware, pop ups, spam, and a host of other problems. Luckily there are ways to protect yourself and your machine. As always 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.
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.
What are the reasons for this you ask? Well the answer is very simple when you think about it. The primary reason that so many computers can become infected with a virus is because of the advent of high speed internet. Most people in North America and other industrialized countries use high speed internet access. This allows people to go to a greater amount of sites quicker, and also allows unauthorized downloads to finish quicker.
In the salad days of the dial-up connection if would take several minutes to download a small file. Viruses that want access to computers by forcefully downloading itself could be detected and in some cases stopped. As today's internet download speed increased several folds, it is almost impossible to stop malicious downloads. This led to the development of the famous pop-up and spam blockers to make computers safe against these threats.
High speed internet isn't the only cause for this problem; it's simply with the delivery medium. Malicious software and viruses were created by people who hated certain operating manufacturers. Although, some just enjoy making programs to make other people computer experience unpleasant. The main threat however is that this threat has evolved from destruction to identity theft. This is usually done by spyware infiltrating you system and monitoring your keystrokes.
Site names and passwords are being collected, the data are then sent to its creators. The information is used for identity theft for related crimes. This makes an installation of an antivirus software suite essential for safe computer operation. It is also quite helpful to have antispyware, adware, and malware programs installed for a tight protection. You can download services such as these online for free. Though some are legitimate and easy to use, paid suites have all programs bundled 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.
Protecting your computer is becoming a full time job these days. There are constant threats from viruses, spyware, adware, malware, pop ups, spam, and a host of other problems. Luckily there are ways to protect yourself and your machine. As always 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.
About the Author:
Dorthy Weatherbush uses Webroot Spy Sweeper to make sure that her computer is healthy. These days there are so many viruses on the internet that using a service like Webroot Spy Sweeper is well worth the money.