Protecting Your Computer From Viruses and Spyware

Your computer is your most important tool for your online business. Anything going wrong with your computer will bring your online business to a standstill. Therefore it is critical for you to be aware of how to monitor and deal with any problems that may affect your computer.

Being aware that there is problem. Here are a few warning signs:

Slowing down of your computer-especially on starting
Graphics not coming up correctly
Odd notices
Unwanted pop ups
Your browser being redirected to different sites
Email problems-
Increases in Spam
Passwords not working properly

One of the first things you will notice when something is wrong with your computer is a slowing up of your systems. Everything will take time to load especially when you use your browser. When you reboot or restart your computer it will take an unusually long time to start.

Graphics may come up only partially or not at all especially when you try to open a website on your browser.

You get strange error messages that pop up randomly.

Pop ups often of an X rated nature suddenly pop up on your screen, especially when you first open your browser.

You find you are being redirected to different sites when you open your browser.

You are having problems with your email. Either the messages are not coming properly or you are receiving a lot of repeated messages and many attachments. Recipients are receiving attachments from you.

You are getting a great increase in Spam.

Passwords are not working correctly.

What has gone wrong? Viruses or spyware has infected your computer.

How did this happen? How to prevent it? Viruses enter an unprotected computer in several ways. Here are a few:

Email: this is a common way for viruses to infect your computer. These are generally carried by attachments. Spam is a common carrier. Never open any attachment unless you are very sure of the sender and you are expecting an attachment from that person.

Messengers chat rooms and traffic surfing: these are prime targets for your computer to catch viruses and spy ware. Whenever you leave these places you should always check your computer with reliable antivirus software like MacAfee or Norton and scan with anti spy ware.

Other websites: whenever you leave the Internet always clear all cookies and temporary folders. This is where spy ware can leave a cookie on your computer and then continuously spy on your computer and bring unwanted pop up ads and redirections to other websites. Spy ware can also interfere with your passwords.

Monitor your computer: The best way to monitor your computer and try to prevent an attack is to invest in either MacAfee or Norton antivirus software. You can also run a free software from http://lavasoft.com called Adware 6. This will allow you to check for spy ware on your computer and delete it. Try to check for spy ware on a daily basis and run a virus scan at least once a week.

If you remember to monitor your computer and be aware of the dangers you will cut down problems and save yourself lost time and money. It can be very expensive to fix your computer if anything happens to it. Always back up (save) all your files to disk so that if your computer gets infected you can reformat your computer and not lose any valuable data.

July 11, 2006 – 5:33 pm by Constantin Chersin