How To: Keep Your Computer Virus-Free - AskMen
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      How To: Keep Your Computer Virus-Free

      How To: Keep Your Computer Virus-Free

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      protect your computer against viruses It's happened to the best of us, it's happened to the worst of us. And when infected, it feels like your world has just fallen apart. Call the doctor and head for the hospital: you've just been infected by a computer virus that's erasing your entire hard drive, as you speak. And all because you opened that e-mail with the subject header: "Must-See Anna Kournikova Image."

      It's time to protect yourself before this happens, and take the necessary steps to make your computer virus-free.

      There are simple steps to take, but remember that even if you do follow these steps diligently, you're still at risk of being infected with a virus; these steps will simply lower your chances of contracting a computer virus greatly .

      Before arming yourself with all the necessary preventative methods, you need to know what you're up against.

      a virus-full world

      So what exactly is a virus? A virus is described as a piece of code, usually written to create a negative effect, that attaches itself to a program or file under the guise of something positive, and spreads to other files, program systems, or other recipients, without the user's consent or knowledge.

      You've probably heard of some of the following types of viruses, but aren't sure what they mean.

      File infector: Parasites that attach themselves to program files, usually with the extensions .exe or .com. They infect your computer when the program is launched.

      Trojan horses: Disguise themselves as something desirable. They usually don't replicate, but if they are launched (by opening a program file or executing some other action to trigger it), they wreak havoc on your computer by destroying files or changing data. They usually come in the form of e-mail.

      Worms: These are probably the ones that you've heard of the most. You might remember the "I Love You" worm. Like the latter, worms come via e-mail, and if opened, they replicate themselves, take up space in your hard drive and send themselves to everyone in your address book. It's not fun explaining to every client on your corporate address book that you're responsible for the virus they just received.

      ways to protect yourself

      Stay prudent
      Viruses can attach themselves to files that you download off the Internet, so make sure you know what you're downloading, and whether it's from a reputable and trustworthy website. Also, make sure you know where a floppy disk has been before you insert it into your own floppy drive, and make sure you trust whoever is sending you e-mail and attachments.

      Be cautious of e-mail
      Speaking of e-mail, it can be a computer infection waiting to happen. Try to avoid opening attachments that end with .exe, .com, .vbt extensions, and always watch out for the subject headers. Remember that a subject line "Congratulations From Me" may seem innocent, but it could be one of those Trojan horses I referred to earlier.

      Be prudent if you don't recognize the sender, and even if you do recognize the sender, since they may not know that they sent you the e-mail (some viruses automatically send themselves to everyone in your address book). If you're unsure, you can always ask the sender to find out whether they intended to send you the e-mail you received.

      As long as you don't open the attachment itself, you're considered safe. Therefore, opt for an e-mail program that has a preview pane, which allows you to read the e-mail without actually opening it. If it looks suspicious, delete it from your inbox and permanently delete it from your "Deleted Messages" folder. You don't want any viruses lingering.

      How else can you avoid viruses?

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