Virus Protection 101
What is a virus? A computer virus is much like human virus such as the flu which is spread person to person (often by someone who hacks and coughs without covering his/her mouth) and basically takes on a life of its own. A computer virus is code that was created by a hacker and is spread via email or the Internet. If you don’t have an antivirus or internet security program on your computer, you’re not covering your mouth when you cough!
There are several categories of viruses: boot sector, file infecting and macro. When you turn the computer on it "boots" up which is another way of saying it "starts" up. A boot sector virus fools the computer into thinking it is one of the programs needed upon start up. These viruses can be some of the most damaging as they often prevent you from starting your computer.
If your computer "boots" only to give you a blank screen or shut itself down it is quite possible you have a boot sector virus and if you’re not familiar with cleaning it out and reloading Windows, you will probably have to go to a computer repair store for help. You can see then, how simply having virus protection such as Norton internet security is good insurance for your computer!
If you do not have virus protection, Norton internet security (Symantec) offers a free internet security check:
Click here to go to the free Norton Virus Protection scan
Viruses sent as email attachments, graphics, MP3’s, or through Internet downloads are macro viruses. This is the most common type of attack you need virus protection from. These viruses do their damage when the file is opened, at which time it copies itself and hides in files on your computer waiting for the opportunity to hop on over to another computer usually through email or file sharing. Macro viruses range from the types that alter documents to the kind that erase hard drives.
File infecting viruses are released when you run an infected program, which is why you must only download and run programs from trusted companies and people you know.
Make Sure You Keep Up to Date
As the computer owner you’ll have to do more than simply buy and install the virus protection software. You must also run regular scan and perform updates. If you use leading software, such as Norton internet security you can set the program to automatically update whenever you’re connected to the internet. New viruses are released every day, so what good is the virus protection of last week if you didn’t update it with this week’s protection against the latest viruses?
Take a look at our Internet Security page to find out more about viruses and other security threats.