What Are Viruses and Why Avoid Them?

Keeping Your PC Virus-Free

The biggest and best weapon in keeping your PC free from viruses, the malicious pieces of software that can infect and harm your data, isn't expensive. It's not even complicated or difficult to use. In fact, you already have it, ready to use: your common sense. In a digital world where huge chunks of our lives are tied up in our computers and the internet, staying safe from viruses is of tremendous importance due to the damage that they can do.

However, it's important to remember that as harmful as a virus can be, it is simple to keep them at bay. This is because, in most cases, viruses rely on being introduced to a computer through opportunism and simple user mistakes.

Adding an extra layer of protection in the form of an anti-virus program is straightforward. By sitting on your PC and scanning the files that travel to and from the internet, as well as the ones stored on your computer's hard drive, an anti-virus program can ensure that no viruses are picked up. In the event that a virus is contracted, it will eradicate it swiftly and safely.

What Is A Virus Anyway?

Computer viruses are often transferred to your PC by email, where they can attach themselves to messages and pretend to be something else, such as a photo or video clip, and by hiding in files that you download from the internet. It's for this reason that you shouldn't open attachments on emails from people you don't know or install programs that you download from the internet that you're not sure are safe.

If you do happen to open an attachment to an infected email, it wakes the virus up and sets it loose on your PC. Once activated, it'll do two things: firstly, it'll do whatever damage it's been designed to do. This can range from changing your internet browser's home page to corrupting important system files on your PC, preventing you from using your programs. Secondly, it'll replicate itself and try to send the copies of itself to other PCs it can find. One variety of virus, called a Trojan (after the mythical wooden horse), will hide away on your PC, waiting for another trigger, such as a specific time and date or for a certain set of conditions to arise.

Anti-Virus Software

This is why installing an anti-virus program on your PC and keeping it updated is so important. By maintaining a regularly updated database of viruses, your anti-virus program should be able to detect and defeat the latest threats, a crucial element because viruses are evolving and altering themselves continually. Combined with your common sense, an anti-virus program will help to keep your computer free from infection, enabling you to enjoy it and the internet.