Virus Prevention, Antivirus Software & Computer Health

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If you were a computer user in the late 1980s, virus infections would not have been a major concern for you. However, by the mid 1990′s virus infections had become common place and this trend has worsened with the arrival of always on broadband internet.

Why is this a problem? Simply put, viruses arrive on your computer not to lay idle, but to do a job of their own. This is called the virus ‘payload’. In nearly every case, this payload will have some kind of negative impact on you, the computer user. Typical payloads include: to make the infected PC send out spam e-mail to others, to damage the host computer making it unreliable/unusable, to collect information that could be used for identity fraud or to frighten users into buying fake antivirus applications.

The bottom line is that virus infections should be kept out of your PC in the first place. Prevention is much easier than virus removal, so where should you start? Below are some valuable virus prevention steps that you can take now.

If you haven’t already got some antivirus software, remedy this immediately. Remember that not all antivirus software is equal. In fact, some perform very poorly. What is the best antivirus software? Well, before buying, do some research, read some reviews & ask questions. Group reviews will always be more useful that someone giving their own personal opinion of one product. In my experience, antivirus software by itself is much better than bundled products from the likes of Norton & McAfee which includes antivirus, antispyware & firewall components all in one. These extra features are usually not all that well implemented, and their firewalls in particular cause no end of headaches for end users. It’s much better to buy the best antivirus software that you can, and then look for the best antispyware application separately. If you are using Windows XP or Vista, it has its own firewall already which performs admirably.
Now your antivirus is in place, the next priority is to update Windows. Computer hackers are constantly trying to find ways to attack networks and computers with viruses & other malicious software. When they succeed, computer users lose a great deal of time & money. In spite of their high cost and the headaches they cause, many security breaches are easily avoidable. Microsoft actively works around the clock, searching for security vulnerabilities in Microsoft software and provides security updates to fix them. So the security fixes are available, but users don’t get them installed quickly enough. So, you should head into your Control Panel & turn on Automatic Updates right away. Make sure to select a realistic time for your PC to check for updates (The default time of 3am will not work, as most people will have their machine turned off). An extra benefit of activating Automatic Updates is that Microsoft provides other software updates that make your computer run better and give you a better Windows experience. For example, an update may fix an issue with a hardware device, improve the performance of your computer, or deliver improved Windows features.
Consider purchasing some anti-spyware software. Even the best antivirus software will never be perfect. Why not give them a helping hand by installing a competent partner to help with the fight against malware? It makes good sense to lessen the load and spread the security burden. As was the case with your antivirus software, don’t buy the first software you see. Some are terrible, some are just ok and some are excellent. Do your research.
Finally, learn a bit about safe surfing and be smart about where you visit and what you click on. You will likely already know some basics. Don’t open e-mail attachment from someone your don’t know, don’t interact with pop-ups warning you about security issues (they are usually scams), don’t visit porn or warez sites, as they are breeding grounds for malware infectors, don’t click on links that are displayed as a numeric IP number and not as a domain & download software only from trusted sites. However there are many more new tricks to learn, so be alert to new things and read up on the subject every few months. Google is your friend for research!

Follow these tips and you will be a less frequent caller at your local computer repair store.

Visit http://www.bestantivirussoftware.co.uk for the best antivirus software.

Peter C owns and manages a large UK based computer repair company who have specialised in virus removal since 2001.