Viruses and Worms: The Problems and Their Solutions

History and Background

The virus was one of the first ever threats to computer security. It brought a whole new fear upon computer users. Bugs and glitches could cause damage unintentionally, but a virus created havoc intentionally, and therefore often caused much more damage then just glitches in software. Technically a virus must be in a host file and spread manually by people, versus a worm which spreads by an automated process and doesn't require a host file, but we will include worms as part of the term virus. Therefore, the threat of viruses quickly multiplied expotentially. One computer infected by a virus is manageable, but a virus spreading uncontrollably and automatically can cause damage to sometimes entire populations. And with the introduction of the Internet, billions of computers worldwide could be accessed with a click of a button. These abilities are what made the virus probably the greatest security to personal computers in the 21st Century.

What kind of damage will it inflict?

Since up to 100 new viruses are discovered every minute by anti-virus industries worldwide, the damage they inflict varies considerably. Some will display an annoying popup. Some will swap your mouse buttons. Some will uninstall Internet Explorer. Some will delete all your personal files. And some, though rare, will slow down your computer fan to the point that your computer processor starts smoking. All have 1 thing in common - they reduce your productivity in some way and they inhibit you from comfortably using your PC. Therefore you must take several precautions to insure you do not to become infected with viruses. With just a few simple security measures, the chances of getting infected with a virus can be cut down by over 90%.

Security Measures

The most important step - Be careful of everything you do on the Internet! It is extremely rare for a computer to get infected by a virus if you only download and browse trustworthy sites and emails. If an email has an attachment and looks suspicious it is very likey to be a virus. If a site is providing illegal or inappropiate content, it should be considered a risk. These are basic rules of safe browsing of the Internet and unfortunately, most people only learn these rules after a disaster. Don't learn from experience! Don't let it happen in the first place. Keep your system up-to-date. Nearly every major virus threat to operating systems are patched soon after discovery. Visit your operating system update website often, which is www.windowsupdate.com for Windows users. Get a reliable antivirus solution. The most common is Norton Antivirus, but I personally do not like its unreliability and incompatibility with many PCs. On the otherhand, it is probably the most user friendly antivirus solution on the market, and is probably best for PC beginners. If you're looking for a free yet extremely reliable and easy-to-use antivirus solution, Avast may be your answer. I am currently running Avast and am very happy with it. I previously tried Norton Antivirus, Norton Client Security, NOD32 Antivirus and McAfee Antivirus, but each had their own individual problems and so I had to constantly change antivirus software until I finally reached Avast.

Some people go overboard and install many other security measures but I don't recommend this. These measures only hog resources, confuse users and cause conflicts with other software. Some of this software includes firewalls, memory explorers and file protection. References

www.wikipedia.org

us.mafee.com

www.netmom.com

www.pcworld.com

Links

Avast Antivirus - www.avast.com

Soroush King is a certified programmer, adept in VB, C++, Delphi, as well as web developer and scripter, having considerable knowledge of both PHP and Perl. He also owns and manages several professional websites.

This article was originally published at http://www.articlesandtools.com/adware.php For more information on computer security visit http://www.articlesandtools.com.

If you would like to use this article anywhere else, please just notify me by sending an email to kingofkings@gmail.com (you don't have to wait for a response, as this is just a notification, not permission). Please refer on the page that the author of the article was I, Soroush King, and also please note that the article was originally published at http://www.articlesandtools.com/adware.php by providing a link.

---

Spyware Symptoms

Spyware symptoms happen when your computer gets bogged down with... Read More

Protecting Your Home Both Inside and Out

If you are a parent, you have probably wondered at... Read More

Web Browsing - Collected Information

You may not realize it, but as you are surfing... Read More

Five Excellent Indie Encryption And Security Solutions You Have Not Heard About

Geek SuperheroGeek Superhero watches your computer for changes, immediately notifying... Read More

Do You Know What your Kids Are Doing Online?

It's a sad statistic, but hundreds of unsuspecting kids are... Read More

Lottery Scam, What It is and how to Avoid It?

Internet scams and frauds are on the rise! The quantity... Read More

Computer Viruses, Worms, and Hoaxes

In recent days, I was one of the unfortunate persons... Read More

Is Shopping Online For Your Horse Gifts Safe?

Shopping for horse gifts or other gift items on the... Read More

New CipherSend Online Security Service Thwarts Email Address Theft And Soothes Password Fatigue

In 1997, I decided after 15 years as a practicing... Read More

Is the Internet Insecure Because of You?

Long gone are the days that we could feel secure... Read More

Don?t Become An Identity Fraud Statistic!

"You've just won a fabulous vacation or prize package! Now,... Read More

Phishing ? Its Signs and Your Options

Phishing is the act of some individual sending an email... Read More

File Sharing - What You Need to Know!

File sharing on p2p is soaring despite the music and... Read More

Free Ways to Tackle Threats to Your Computer

Protect Your PCHaving problems with your pc? Do your kids,... Read More

Just Whos Computer is this Anyway?

Well, this is an article I never thought I would... Read More

Desktop Security Software Risks - Part 1

This is the second in a series of articles highlighting... Read More

Top 10 tips for Safe Internet Shopping

Over £5 billion pounds was spent on online shopping in... Read More

Remove Rogue Desktop Icons Created By Spyware

If you have used a Windows machine for a while,... Read More

40 Million People Hacked - YOU as Identity Theft Victim

Saturday, MasterCard blamed a vendor of ALL credit card providers... Read More

Cyber Crooks Go Phishing

"Phishing," the latest craze among online evil-doers, has nothing to... Read More

SCAMS ? Be Aware ? And Report When Necessary

The Internet is a vast International Network of people and... Read More

How to Get Rid of New Sobig.F Virus?

As you know, this time the virus under the name... Read More

Dont be a Dork ? Protect Yourself

There are folks out there who use their powers for... Read More

Types Of Computer Infections

Computer infections can be broken up into 4 main categories... Read More

Internet Privacy

Over the past few years as the internet has become... Read More

Virus Nightmare..Lessons Learned

I got a virus the other day, Thursday I believe... Read More

The One Critical Piece Of Free Software Thats Been Overlooked

Can You Prevent Spyware, Worms, Trojans, Viruses, ... To Work... Read More

The Attack of the Advertiser - Spy Mother Spy

The menacing campaigns that drive the corporate spyware and adware... Read More

The Never Ending Spyware Story

It's been with us since 1993, it's gotten more intrusive,... Read More

Top Spyware Removers Considerations

Only the top spyware removers are successful at detecting and... Read More

Anti-Spyware Protection: Behind How-To Tips

There is no doubt that "how-to articles" have become a... Read More

The Truth About Hiding Your Tracks on the Internet

Ok, ok, I know you've seen them. All those pop... Read More

Is Your Email Private? Part 1 of 3

In a word, no - an email message has always... Read More