Top 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.

© Computers.6ln.com, All Rights Reserved.

About the author:
This article was written by Jim Faller of
http://computers.6ln.com a website with information about
viruses, spyware, adware, backups, data recovery and computer
security.