The best way to deal with a virus is to not have to deal with one in the first place. However, in the event that your computer does get infected you should always have the tools to deal with it. In this article I’ll go over several tips to help prevent you from getting a virus.
To start off with, you’ll want to find an anti-virus program. If you have any Windows operating system installed I would recommend downloading the Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus. It’s free and works very well with Windows. Other anti-virus programs that are popular and offer free versions are AVG, Avast, Kaspersky, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and my personal favorite SuperAntiSpyware. The aforementioned anti-virus software will scan and remove viruses, malware, and spyware. Spyware will sit on your computer and send information about you to a website. Malware is defined as any “mal”icious software that tries to harm your computer. No matter which program you choose, always remember to update it! An anti-virus with definitions from last year will be pretty useless.
Next, we will talk about tips to prevent your pc from getting infected.
- Don’t download anything from a site you don’t trust
- Don’t click on a link in an email from someone you don’t know
- Make sure to click the correct link when downloading something
- When entering login information on a site such as Facebook or the very popular Google+ look to make sure that you are on the correct site. “www.facebook.com/login” and “www.plus.google.com” respectively
The last tip on the list is a method known as “phishing” where people trick you into thinking you are on a site you trust by making them look similar and getting you to type in your login info.
One of the most common ways I’ve seen people get viruses lately is from couponing. Never download coupon software and try to avoid going to coupon sites.
Overall just be wary when on a site you do not commonly browse and you can save yourself the time and headache that comes with getting a virus.
In the event that your computer does get a virus simply running a virus scan may not actually remove the virus. A lot of the time it will only get part of the virus or the virus will keep reinstalling itself. If you do suspect that you have a virus it’s always best to bring it to a professional, like any tech at South City Computer, and we can remove it for you. We can even recover data from a hard drive if the virus is bad enough.