The Computer Virus: 10 Ways to Protect Yourself
If you are the type of person that likes to download lots of files of the internet, you could be pushing your luck when it comes to getting a computer virus. If this is the case, I’ll assert that you have little understanding of just how vulnerable you are to getting infected. This article is my way of helping you avoid the dreaded infestations.
Listed below are some of the guidelines you can follow in order to keep those nasty viruses from making a mess out of your computer and your life.
1. Purchase and install a well respected antivirus software program and be sure to set it up so that it automatically runs when the computer starts up.
2. Your anti virus software must be kept up to date. You can do this by checking it manually on a weekly basis, or on some software, this can be set up automatically for you.
3. Set your antivirus program to scan for potential viruses each time you open a word-processing document like the ones that get sent through email. Viruses found in word-processing documents are called Macro Viruses.
4. Downloading software from the internet should be done as little as possible. There are many neat programs available on the internet, but unfortunately there are many viruses that go along with them also.
5. Tansfering data between storage devices like usb drives and discs, should only be done if really neccessary and they should be scanned for viruses before you install the data onto your machine.
6. You must format floppy discs the first time that they are used to transfer data.
7. Only use trusted vendors when you are buying new software for your computer.
8. Never install software that is pirated. This is not only illegal but also a great way to get infected with a virus.
9. If you must download programs from the internet ALWAYS scan them for viruses BEFORE opening them up to install on your computer.
10. Probably the most important and neglected method of disaster recovery are periodic backups of all important files found on your computer. Should a virus happen to get through your lines of defense you may need to replace the virus corrupted files with fresh ones that have been kept for such an occasion.
Finally, it is not guaranteed that if you follow the above steps that you will not be the victim of a computer virus,but you can sure bet that if followed you will greatly reduce the chance of being an unsuspecting recipient of such an unwanted program.