Virus protection is a very important issue if you often surf the net using your personal computer. When you browse the internet, your PC is under attack as any website can be infested with some type of virus or threat just by mistake. In fact, some websites are launched with the sole purpose to gain access to the visitors’ computers.
Many websites are infected with trojan horses, viruses and other malicious threats. If a computer is infected with a sophisticated virus it can be very easily accessed by the creator of the virus. When the computer is accessed, it can be used to send unsolicited emails or attack some networks unless you have good security. Another purpose of virus creators is to gain the advantage of the PC control. This way private data from the user’s computer can be stolen and used in different ways. For example, using credit cards data is one of the most wanted data searched by web attackers.
The rise of computer interconnections has rapidly increased the level of risk faced by users. The level of sophistication of the actual computer software has turned virus spreading into a very common problem. All computers need virus protection because all the security software installed on a computer must be verified in order to be virus-free.
All computer users must know that free virus protection is relatively easy to get. It’s not necessary to spent a lot of money for computer protection. These are some rules that must be followed in order to have full protection against web threats.
The first rule is to have some antivirus software installed on your computer. You can check our free anti virus recommendations and download the best rated free antivirus programs for your computer.
Rules to keep in order to ensure computer security protection
Ensuring virus protection can be a very easy task if you follow the next important rules:
- Keep your software Up-to-date: Any computer software must be updated if you want to turn your computer into a powerful and efficient machine. This must be applied especially to anti-virus software and other protection programs like antispyware or antispam applications. However, if you use operating systems made by Microsoft you are exposed to dangerous risks. Usually, Microsoft Windows operating systems are preferred by virus creators because old versions of this OS are very frequently not updated. These non updated operating systems are vulnerable to virus infections. If you use Microsoft Office you must run the updater, too. This way these applications will be installed on the PC with their latest patches. So this is one of the most important rule that must be followed: keep your software up-to-date.
- Don’t open unsolicited emails attachments and other unusual applications and pop-ups. This is a common scenario of virus infection: you receive an unsolicited email with attachment. One of the most known virus infections is the virus called: “I love you”. It is a virus that spreads via email with dangerous effects to computers. Once received and opened, the virus sends a copy of itself to all the contacts. This way, the virus is multiplied very fast. However, virus protection is easy to achieve if you are vigilant and very careful with all unusual behavior.
- Don’t use risky software. Most viruses intrusions are possible because users have installed a Microsoft application. It’s better to use alternative software and replace the usual Microsoft programs. If you want maximum virus protection, it would be good to replace programs like Internet Explorer and Outlook, for example, with alternative software like Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird. You should also change your Operating System with a Linux based Operating System like Ubuntu, Red Hat, Mandriva or Fedora.
Avoid dangerous websites – on the Internet you’re sure to find a very large number of websites which will promise you that you can gain some sort of advantage if you visit or install a particular web page. For example, the pirated software websites and warez pages usually provide for free computer applications with viruses in their code. This way, if you download and install such type of software, your computer will be at risk. So, a basic rule you should keep in mind is that you must not visit this type of websites.- Avoid adult websites - a lot of adult websites, especially with online movies, shows the user messages like: “You must install this codec to see the movie” or “Your computer cannot show this video. You must install this program to see this free movie” or similar things. Usually, you cannot close the opened window and you have only the OK button. In this situation, it’s better to close the entire browser window from the corner. If this is not possible just press Ctrl + Alt + Delete once and close the browser from the taskbar.
If you follow these rules you’ll avoid a lot of problems generated by virus infections. However, the best thing to do in order to ensure virus protection is to install the top rated free anti virus programs recommendations.