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10 Ways To Protect Yourself From Computer Viruses
by: Jim
Faller As more and more people are
becoming comfortable using their computers at
school, home or in the office it's only a matter
of time before they encounter a computer virus.
Here are our top 10 steps to protect you from
computer viruses.
Use a high quality anti-virus program. There
are many different anti-virus computers programs
on the market some of them are better than others.
Look to reputable computer magazines or websites
for ratings to help you find the one that matches
your needs.
Always use your anti-virus software. Make sure
your anti-virus software is always turned on and
scanning, incoming and outgoing email messages,
and any software programs you run.
Keep your antivirus programs up to date. Most
programs come with a yearly subscription make
sure you take advantage of the updates. More advanced
programs allow you to schedule updates or full
system scans for "off hours" like 2AM when you
aren't likely to be using your computer.
Keep your computer up to date. From time to time
operating systems fall victim to security holes
or issue updates. Make sure you check periodically
to make sure you are running stable up to date
versions of your software.
Backup your data regularly. Most windows computer
users keep their documents in the "My documents"
folder. This makes it easy to back up all of your
important documents. Make weekly or monthly copies
to CD or USB drives.
If you use floppy disks or USB drives on public
computers like your school computer lab, Kinko's,
or even digital photo printing store make sure
you scan them for viruses. Public computers are
notorious for not being up to date and properly
protected.
Be wary of email attachments. Treat any email
attachment as potentially dangerous. Never open
attachments from people you weren't expecting.
Also be careful of attachments from people you
know but weren't expecting. Many computer viruses
replicate themselves by reading the contacts from
an infected computer.
Use text email if possible. While HTML email
is prettier and allows you more control over formatting
it also can carry computer viruses. If you use
text based email the only way to get a virus is
by opening an attachment.
Use downloaded freeware and shareware files or
software with caution. Try to download them from
popular reputable sources that scan the programs
before they are uploaded. To make sure you are
safe scan the program before you install it on
your computer.
Be wary of links in IM or instant messaging software.
Don't accept invitations from people you don't
know and never click a link from someone you don't
trust, they can easily redirect you to another
website that will try to install a virus on your
computer system.
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