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RedAmber |
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See also: Computer stability
Computer viruses are annoying and in our net enabled world spread quickly. I've written this page to help people understand and make informed decisions about computer security. On the opening page of this web site I have a display showing the top 5 viruses as provided by Trend Micro with links to more detailed information.
First off, a virus is just a piece of software that exploits your computer (if it can) and then can then either be plain irritating or more usually will corrupt your system.
Secondly, even if you've not knowingly fallen victim to a virus you almost certainly will at some stage if you do either of the following...
In both cases you are presenting new software to your computer that may contain virus code.
There are 2 things you should do to minimise the chance of becoming victim to a computer virus on Windows...
By using Windows Update you will benefit from having the latest fixes from Microsoft to any vulnerabilities that have been or could be exploited by virus writers. It requires Internet access, most security fixes only take a few minutes to download and it is very good practise to take advantage of this facility.
A free and effective online virus scanner is accessible at Trend Micro HouseCall . It uses either a Java applet or a signed ActiveX that can download the latest virus definitions and scan your computer for virus infections. I've found this facility very handy. It is free to use but only scans your computer on request, to get full protection you need to install antivirus monitoring software that keeps watch all the time your pc is in use.
Trend Micro also have a downloadable system cleaner, this is excellent if you have a machine infected with a virus and you don't have antivirus software immediately available, look at Trend System Cleaner.
Trend have a web page alog the same line of this one offering general tips for Safe Computing.
New viruses are being written all the time therefore for the best protection you should install antivirus software that is able to retrieve updates, the updates will permit the antivirus software to recognise and cope with newly discovered viruses.
The most well known software is provided by McAffee, Symantec and TrendMicro. I want to say as little as possible about how they rank against one another, they all do the job. You should look around and make your choice, it is very likely to be worth your while to spend money on an annual subscription to antivirus software.
If you only want antivirus software then Trend's PcCillin would be my choice as it installs with little fuss, is well priced and does what it should.
If you want antivirus protection and more, for example Web Site filtering to guard against your children accessing unsuitable sites, then Symantec's Internet Security might suit.
On a related topic - Symantec also sell software called Norton Ghost. This is used to take copies of entire disk drives and allow them to be restored at a later date. To make best use of this software you really should have a second hard disk, then you can make copies of your entire PC installation and restore as needed. Ideally use an external hard drive, ones that connect through USB or FireWire/S400/1394 are manufactured by IoMega and Lacie.
Why might you need to do this? It takes a long time to install Windows and ensure all the software is configured to your taste. This can all be lost if you fall prey to an especially nasty virus or more typically suffer a disk failure, this is not nice when it happens; it is money well spent.