How to keep your computer safe from viruses

As more and more people are becoming comfortable using their computers at school, home or in the office it’s only a matter of time before they meet a computer virus. Here are our top steps to guard you from computer viruses.
Use a high quality anti-virus program. There are numerous diverse anti-virus computers programs on the market some of them are superior than others. Look to trustworthy computer publication or websites for ratings to assist you find the one that matches your requirements.
Always use your anti-virus software.

Keep your antivirus programs up to date. Most programs come with a yearly payment make sure you take advantage of the updates. More advanced programs let you to schedule updates or total system scans for “off hours” like 2AM when you aren’t expected to be using your computer.
Keep your computer up to date. From time to time operating systems fall prey to security holes or issue updates. Make sure you check periodically to make sure you are running stable up to date versions of your software.

If you use floppy disks or USB drives on public computers like your school computer lab, Kinko’s, or even digital photo printing store make sure you scan them for viruses. Public computers are notorious for not being up to date and properly protected.

Be wary of email attachments. Never open attachments from people you weren’t expecting. Also be careful of attachments from people you know but weren’t expecting. Many computer viruses replicate themselves by reading the contacts from an infected computer.
Use text email if possible.

Use downloaded freeware and shareware files or software with caution. Try to download them from popular reputable sources that scan the programs before they are uploaded. To make sure you are safe scan the program before you install it on your computer.

Be wary of links in IM or instant messaging software. Don’t accept invitations from people you don’t know and never click a link from someone you don’t trust, they can easily redirect you to another website that will try to install a virus on your computer system.

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