When
your computer gets infected with a virus it can be a devastating experience and
this is exactly why you need to protect your computer from viruses. A virus can
consume your precious computer files and even damage your computer hardware. Is
this worth ignoring? I don’t think so! Google it and I guess you might be
getting the same definition. Anything you can do when protecting your computer
from viruses has to be a good thing and is well worth spending your time on. We
all know prevention is better than a cure so I am going to share my top 10 tips
on how to protect your computer from viruses.
10 tips to protect your computer from viruses.
There
are many ways to protect your computer from nasty viruses invading. Protecting
your computer is an number one concern for every computer user on earth. I do
not know anyone that wants to have their computer crash due to a virus invasion.
Here are 10 ways to protect your computer and keep your files and data safe.
1.
Learn about viruses.
The
first thing that I recommend is to research and become knowledgeable about
viruses. How can you protect your computer from viruses if you don’t even know
what they are. Here are some previous tutorials I have written about viruses.
See What is a Virus and how do I know if I have one? and What is the difference
between a virus, spyware, Malware, and adware? How can you protect your
computer from viruses if you don’t know what it is?
2.
Arm yourself with the best Anti-virus software to suit your needs.
Not
everyone can get away with using free Anti-virus software because it depends
what you do on your computer. It depends on factors such as if you download
files or not, if you open email attachments, and if you surf suspicious websites.
See my reviews for the best Virus Removal Software. Lets face it, if you do not
have protection against viruses installed on your computer, you will without a
doubt, get a virus within the first hour of surfing the internet. It is that
easy. For years I would remove a virus from my dads computer at least once a year, until finally I realized that he
needed a paid Anti-virus program. He wasn’t good with computers and if a windows
popped up and said he needed to take a scan, he would just do it. He would just
presume it was the program I had installed to protect his computer. Now I have Eset
on his computer and there has not been one problem since. I bought the Internet
security version so it has full protection. It never asks him to do anything
and just works in the background.
3.
Regular Updates
Having
a great Anti-virus program installed on your computer to protect your computer
from viruses is great, however if you do not regularly update the virus
definitions, then the program is useless. New viruses are produced daily and
this is why we constantly have to update the viruses definitions and stay ahead
of the bad guys. Eset Internet Security simply updates by itself and just tells
me when it is done.
4.
Downloading
When
surfing the internet avoid websites that contain illegal software downloads, sexual
references, free screensavers, cracks or serials, etc. I am sure you get the
picture. If you go near these sites you are immediately asking for trouble.
Some other websites that you should stay away from include foreign websites
where you cannot understand the language on them. This is because you cannot
tell what is on the website.
5.
Windows Updates
Always update Windows when protecting your
computer. These updates contain
security
updates that will help in your fight against viruses. If you do not perform
regular Windows updates you are leaving your computer in a vulnerable state.
You can simple check to see if your computer needs updates by going to he start
menu and typing in “windows update”. See the screen shot below. You can also
view recent Windows update history so you can be in control of the whole
situation. tips to protect your computer from viruses
6.
Opening Emails
Be
careful when opening emails. There are obvious emails that you know you shouldn’t
open, however what about the ones you get from people you know? What if your
friend has a virus and it is spreading itself through emails? An email cannot
be important enough to risk getting a virus. Delete the email and send a fresh
email to your friend asking them if they actually did send you the email. It is
better to be safe than sorry. :( You can also create a whitelist so only certain
emails get through. You will still have to be careful though, as you do not know
what security the sender has installed on their computer. It’s like driving on
the road, you need to watch how others are driving to stay safe.
7.
Change your settings to protect
your
computer from viruses If you are really serious about protecting your computer
you can change your email settings and receive text emails only. You can also
disable the ability to open email attachments. Virus travel in HTML enabled
emails and file attachments. They cannot travel in text email messages. I know
this sounds very boring, however, I would rather be boring and protect my
computer from viruses.
8.
Peer to Peer file sharing – ways to protect your computer
Do
not use peer to peer (p2p) file sharing programs. These include programs such
as Limewire, Bearshare, Gnutella, Morpheus, Torrents, etc. These program let
you download files from other computer users connected to their program
network. You have no way of knowing what you are actually downloading until it
is on your computer. Even if you share files from a cd from a friend, it may have a virus. Protecting your
computer from viruses is the most important priority for you and you do not want
to risk your computer safety just because you trust your friend.
9.
Do not download files from websites
Again,
there is no way of knowing what you are downloading. The file can appear to be
named like the file you want, however it could be anything. Most of the time,
this is how a virus is unleashed, it usually seems like a harmless, familiar object.
If you are looking for a driver for a certain brand of computer then make sure
you are getting the download from the genuine website. Many websites on the
Internet offer free driver downloads, however, many of them contain viruses. Everything
is not what it seems, so be very careful.
10.
Have Firewall Protection
Make
sure you have a firewall enabled on your computer. Windows comes with an inbuilt
firewall or you can use a third party firewall program like Zone Alarm. Either
way, make sure the firewall is on…To check the Windows Firewall go to the
security settings in your control panel. If you are careful and are serious
about learning how to protect your computer from viruses, it is possible to
stay safe. My top 10 tips will help you keep your computer running smoothly,
and virus free.
Notes on tips to protect your computer from
viruses: These 10 ways to protect your computer from
viruses are extremely important tips to follow. If you have had a virus in the past
you would know how devastating it is when you lose all of your files and your computer
crashes. People often try to install
more than one anti-virus program to protect their computers from viruses. This
is not how to protect your computer from viruses as installing more than one
program always causes a problem. You can only install one virus removal program
at any one time.
