7 steps you can take to prevent a virus or spyware from infecting your PC or Laptop Computer As a computer repair engineer I specialise in Virus and Spyware Removals. You may say it's my "bread and butter". Over the years I've gathered quite a few virus infection protection hints and tips. I want to share these with you my dear readers. Why you should read and follow these handy tips? Believe me prevention is better than cure when it comes to computer viruses. I guess the same applies for our health LOL. By implementing these security tips you simply are following best industry practices. One last note: The steps described below assume that you know how to change some basic settings on your computer - you will find these in the control panel. If you are unsure on how to modify settings get a geeky friend or colleague or a family member to do this for you. Also remember that these steps are not fool proof but go a long way to protect your computer.
Without further delay here are the tips that you've been waiting for;
1) Turn on automatic operating system updates:- To ensure that your PC or Laptop is protected against latest security threats you need to turn on automatic updates. This feature is on by default on Windows 7 computers. This is not however the case with older Windows XP computers.
2) Use software such as secunia psi to update software that's installed on your computer. This software scans your PC or Laptop for all the software that's installed and if the vendors have released updates it will alert you to update.
3) Keep your internet browser up-to-date. Whatever browser you use to surf the web - ensure that it's the latest version. Most modern browsers are set to auto update. So all you need to do is check that the auto update has not been disabled.
4) Set your browser to block access to suspected websites :- Just visiting a website serving malware (malicious software) is enough for your computer to get infected. Cybercriminals hack and infect websites so as to infect a large number of website visitors quickly and effectively. To combat this problem browser developers have come up with a plan to add these hacked websites to a blacklist of sorts. By setting the alert on if you inadvertently try to visit a website that's potentially infected your browser will alert you to think twice.
5) Email attachments :- Do not open email attachments even if they seem to be from some one you know. If in doubt send an email (or better call) the person asking if they really sent that email.
6) Antivirus software :- Invest in quality commercial antivirus software. Keep the software upto-date. 7) Data Backup :- Backup your critical data as frequently as you can can. Some nasty virus infections can only be cured by wiping of your PC's hard drive and reloading the OS. Having a data backup gives you the peace of mind. Call this your disaster recovery plan - if despite taking all the precautions your Laptop is infected. Not having a latest backup means expensive data recovery service to restore your precious data.
Woodhall Computer Repair
About the author :The author runs a small computer repair service in Lincolnshire UK. You can visit his website at http://woodhallcomputerrepair.co.uk/
Woodhall Computer Repair