The Best Ways to Protect Your Computer Against Viruses

Computer viruses are deceptively small, and though they seem benign, they can cause immense damage. Viruses can have an effect that ranges everywhere from deleting your hard drive, hijacking your web browser and stealing your personal information. A large percentage of computer viruses travel as email attachments. They are often disguised as a funny picture or some other seemingly safe type of file. However, once the attached file is opened the virus can infect your system.

The other most common way for viruses to spread are in simple executable files (.exe for pc's   for macs), often disguised as part of other programs and that get installed when you run them. These types of viruses, often known as trojans for the stealthy way they get on your computer are harder to diagnose and solve. It is imperative that you never click on, open or run a file or program unless you are sure the author can be trusted.

There are several things you can do to help protect your computer from viruses and malware. The first step is to understand whether or not your computer is already infected. There are a number of symptoms which are emblematic of virus infection.

Slow Speed - if your computer is 'taking a long time to think about things' such as loading programs or saving data, then your computer may be infected.

Lost Drives - If you are unable to access certain drives, like disk drives or partitions, you need to run some malware removal.

No Response - This can be the result of a virus, although that is not always the case as software incompatibilities or hardware configurations can have the same effect.

Crashes/Reboots - it stands to reason that if your computer starts shutting down and starting itself back up you have a serious virus on your hands.

You can do a number of things to help protect your computer from virus attacks. Many of these are simple or easy, but they should not be ignored just the same. Always remember to:

Shut Your Computer Down - If you are sure your computer is off then you never have to worry about what it is doing when you aren't using it.

Disconnect from the internet - Now that no one uses dialup anymore, connecting to the internet hardly takes any time. Best to leave your computer disconnected whenever you can.

Untrustworthy Programs/Files - If you didn't download it, ask for it or anticipate opening it, then don't open it. If you aren't sure who sent you a file or why you are being asked to download something delete or abort it.

If you do happen to contact a computer virus, which happens to most of us despite our efforts, you need to consult a malware removal specialist. This can come in the form of anti-virus programs and security suites, or tech support specialists highly trained in virus removal. Anti-virus programs can detect and delete many types of malware that could harm your computer, whereas a removal specialist can help you troubleshoot the viruses that can hide from security software. Don't forget to always keep your firewall up and your anti-virus software constantly updated, especially if you spend a lot of time on the internet.