Knowing how to prevent getting a computer virus is more important than any anti-virus software you can find. Always remember, knowledge is power. That being said, here are our top 5 tips on how to avoid contracting a computer virus.
1. Never open an attachment in your email if you don't know what it is or who it is from. Most viruses today are spread through email. These can come unknowingly from friends who are innocently passing the virus along as well as from virus writers sending out emails with a short subject line ("check out this attachment") and then, for example, a .exe attachment (click here to see a list of extensions that viruses can hide in). An additional step to take is if you are a Windows user you can set the "hide file extension" option so that it is marked as "not hide" file extension.
2. Include yourself in your own address book. The main reason for this step is so that if your computer becomes infected and sends out duplicates of itself to everyone in your address book then you will receive this email and be alerted to the problem.
3. Set ActiveX and cookies to prompt you before running. This is an important step in preventing virus infections in your computer. When ActiveX shows up in an email it is almost always a virus.
4. Purchase or download a highly recommended and internationally known anti-virus program that puts out frequent updates. i recommend Norton, McAfee, or Kaspersky. If your anti-virus company rarely updates it's programs then it is not doing much to protect your computer.
5. Don't download questionable programs or email attachments... even out of curiosity. That free screensaver that you think you need may be bringing along his computer virus friend for the download.
Nothing, not even the best anti-virus program on the market will protect you 100% from contracting a computer virus. The best defense is to stay up-to-date on the happenings in the computer virus world and pay attention to your computer's performance.
1. Never open an attachment in your email if you don't know what it is or who it is from. Most viruses today are spread through email. These can come unknowingly from friends who are innocently passing the virus along as well as from virus writers sending out emails with a short subject line ("check out this attachment") and then, for example, a .exe attachment (click here to see a list of extensions that viruses can hide in). An additional step to take is if you are a Windows user you can set the "hide file extension" option so that it is marked as "not hide" file extension.
2. Include yourself in your own address book. The main reason for this step is so that if your computer becomes infected and sends out duplicates of itself to everyone in your address book then you will receive this email and be alerted to the problem.
3. Set ActiveX and cookies to prompt you before running. This is an important step in preventing virus infections in your computer. When ActiveX shows up in an email it is almost always a virus.
4. Purchase or download a highly recommended and internationally known anti-virus program that puts out frequent updates. i recommend Norton, McAfee, or Kaspersky. If your anti-virus company rarely updates it's programs then it is not doing much to protect your computer.
5. Don't download questionable programs or email attachments... even out of curiosity. That free screensaver that you think you need may be bringing along his computer virus friend for the download.
Nothing, not even the best anti-virus program on the market will protect you 100% from contracting a computer virus. The best defense is to stay up-to-date on the happenings in the computer virus world and pay attention to your computer's performance.
