Is your computer running slowly? Does your PC randomly lock up or just stop responding? Do you ever get weird pop ups or error messages? If so, you may be infected with a virus or spyware.
Malware like viruses and spyware can cause major damage to your system, and to your personal life. For example, certain types of malware can track your keystrokes, delete files off your computer, and steal your credit card and other personal information. The following are steps you can take to prevent this from happening to you.
Your first line of defense is a quality anti-virus program. There are free and paid versions of anti-virus software all over the Internet. Companies like McAfee and Norton have excellent security packages at reasonable prices. Their paid packages include anti-virus protection, privacy protection, and a firewall. A couple of outstanding free solutions are MalwareBytes and Microsoft Security Essentials. They both do an excellent job of removing malware that many other software packages are unable to remove. With any anti-virus package, you will want to, either manually or automatically, run virus scans at a minimum of once per week. Also, it is not recommended that you have multiple anti-virus programs installed on your computer, as this will do more harm than good.
The next line of defense is to make sure that your computer is fully up to date. That includes updates from Microsoft, and updates from your anti-virus software. New viruses are created every day, so both Microsoft and your anti-virus company will constantly have updates to prevent them from attacking your computer. Again, either manually or automatically, you will want to check for new updates from Microsoft and your anti-virus software at least once a week.
Finally, if your anti-virus software does detect a virus on your system, as soon as your anti-virus software cleans the virus, you will want to immediately run a full virus scan on your computer. Many times, malware will replicate copies of the virus or spyware all over your computer. Thus, if your anti-virus software only cleans one portion of the virus, the malware can (and probably will) re-appear.
Perform the steps of installing a quality anti-virus program, making sure your system is up to date, and performing virus scans immediately after a virus is detected can help in your battle to keep your system clean of viruses and spyware.
Dwayne M. Hogan is the owner of UtahVirusRemoval.com, a company that specializes in virus and spyware removal. If you need an affordable, reliable company to help you remove a virus, feel free to visit their website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dwayne_M_Hogan
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