PC Doctor+ Guide 1 Viruses

Get Some Protection: Part 1 Viruses
 
There was a time not too long ago when viruses still had a certain novelty factor. Not so now.

The facts are simple enough - if you connect to the Internet then sooner or later your computer will come under attack from a virus. The only decision you need to make is what are you going to do about it.

So What Is A Virus?

Put simply a virus is a tiny piece of computer programming code that can be transferred to your computer. They are usually hidden in e-mails, often as attachments, but can also transfer themselves on the back of any downloads you undertake from the Internet. MP3 download programs such as Kazaa are notorious for this and users can often download more they bargained for. Once the virus takes up residence on your computer it can do one of several things from creating nuisance behaviour on your computer e.g. interfering with the characters displayed on the screen, to trashing the hard disk completely.

These tiny programs are called viruses because they also have the ability to duplicate and send a copy of themselves to other users over the Internet, internal or external network or via contaminated floppy disks, magnetic tape or compact disks.

A common way of transmitting themselves is to use the users address book in Outlook as a source of e-mail addresses to which it can secretly send itself. The user generally has no idea what is happening.

What Can I Do To Prevent Infection?

There are several ways to protect yourself.
 
1. Use a bit of common sense
2. Don't open e-mails that you weren't expecting or when you don't recognise the sender
3. Don't open attachments if you are at all unsure of the genuineness of the sender.
4. Install anti-virus software AND use it!
5. Keep the anti-virus software up to date.

If you don't currently have anti-virus software on your computer then you can download the FREE version of AVG Anti-Virus from www.grisoft.com. You will need to complete a short registration form and provide your e-mail address. Grisoft will send you an activating serial number which you will need to complete the installation process.

Installation itself is a simple process if you accept all of the default settings that the program suggests. A re-boot will be necessary at the end of installation to fully activate the software.

AVG can be set to download virus definition updates automatically from the Grisoft web site thus ensuring that you always have protection from the latest virus threats. You can upgrade to the 'Pro' version of the software if you wish but we have always found the FREE version to be very effective and can highly recommend it.

Other anti-virus software is available from Symantec (Norton Anti-Virus) and MacAfee as well as other companies. If you are already using their anti-virus products then make sure they are up to date by using the software to check for new virus definitions up-dates. Symantec are particular well thought of within the industry and are often the first to respond to any new virus threat.

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