Stopping Computer Viruses in Their Tracks

It’s all about just buying reputable anti-virus software, right? Yes and no. Having good, up-to-date anti-virus software is certainly key to helping prevent computer viruses, but it’s certainly not the only weapon of protection.

The fact is that many people, after spending a large amount of money on a computer system, either simply do not want to drop even more cash on a quality anti-virus program or assume that one is already on the computer as part of the purchase price. Most of the time, a computer system does come with some sort of anti-virus software, but it is for a 30, 60, or 90-day trial period only. So, what else can the consumer do to protect themselves from viruses?

It’s first important to know some different ways a virus has to gain access to a computer system, which can then help prevent them in the first place. As mentioned earlier, the first line of defense against viruses is with quality anti-virus software. Viruses can also enter a computer system via emails, so not opening and immediately deleting any suspicious emails can guard against unknown invaders. Even viewing the email’s “preview” can introduce the virus into the system. It’s also important to install a two-way firewall, which protects against both incoming and outgoing network traffic, and to backup all files. If all files are backed up on a regular basis, then valuable photos, resumes, music, and other items that may be irreplaceable aren’t lost forever. It is recommended that consumers do a complete system backup about once a month. Another way viruses have the opportunity to enter a system is through fake security scans, the ones that pop up on a screen and try to scare the consumer into thinking their system is infected with viruses, malware, etc., and the way to fix these problems is to click on the pop-up link, which promises to scan and clean the system. In actuality, it does none of that, but it does do a lot of damage to the system. In short, do not trust these pop-ups, and rely on updated anti-virus programs instead.

It’s important to mention following all of these tips religiously may not completely protect a computer system from outside attacks, but it will make it much more difficult for those outside attacks to destroy the system.

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