Am I safe? (Viruses/Spyware)
June 17, 2008
The most frequent call we get at Computer Rooter is from people who suspect they’ve been infected with a virus. Sometimes these infections are so severe that the repair takes hours and is thus quite expensive. There are precautions you can take however to avoid getting infected initially:
1) Make sure you have recent anti-virus software and that it is up to date. Don’t assume that just because you bought an anti-virus application 2 years ago that it is still doing its job. Check the program and make sure that it has up to date virus definitions.
2) Anti-virus alone is not enough, you should have spyware/malware protection as well. Good products include Sunbelt Counterspy or Webroot Spysweeper. For those on a budget, Microsoft offers a free anti-spyware application called Defender (although this is not as good as the paid products mentioned, it is at least some basic protection).
3) Change your surfing behavior. Anti-virus and Anti-spyware applications aren’t flawless. Even with the best software it is still possible (although far less likely) to get infected. Follow these steps when you’re online:
- Do not open email attachments from people you do not know.
- Do not install plugins from websites that state “you must install this software to properly view this web page” (unless you know exactly what it is you are downloading)
- Do not visit X-Rated or Serial #/Crack sites as these are prime candidates for distributing infections
- If you do come across an X-Rated site via a pop-up or other means, do not click on any links or bookmark it.
- Do not download files from peer to peer file sharing networks such as limewire, emule, etc… Infected files run rampant on these networks.
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