Internet Service Guy

10 Common Ways Your PC Gets Infected with Viruses

If you’ve ever had a virus on your computer, you know how frustrating it can be to try and get it removed. If you need to bring it in to a professional to have it removed or if you lose data off your hard drive, then it can be expensive as well. So how to those nasty little things get into your PC any ways? Here are ten of the most common ways that your PC can become infected with a virus.

Email attachments. 

You send them. I send them. Everyone sends emails with attachments. Photo’s are the most frequent attachment, and the next are usually sound or video files. It’s a very common practice. But every once in awhile, you’ll get an email from someone you know that has an attachment that is a little out of the ordinary. Beware! If you’re the least little bit unsure, don’t open the attachment. You’re better off calling or sending an email back to the sender to verify that the attachment is safe to open. These types of viruses often send emails out to everyone in the senders address book without the sender even knowing they are going out.

Spyware. 

Spyware and viruses are not the same thing, but they can often times piggy back on one another. You should be scanning your computer for spyware almost as regularly as for viruses

Portable media. Transferring files from one computer to another using a flash drive or CD has the potential of transferring viruses as well. Be sure you don’t share flash drives with multiple partners. Practice safe data sharing!
Software downloads. When you download software, particularly free software, from the internet, you often run the risk of downloading an infected program file. Make sure you always download from well-known, reputable sites.

Infected websites. Some small business and personal websites do not maintain the same security levels that you would expect on larger sites. Simply visiting an infected site can expose your PC to their viruses.

X rated websites. Pornographic websites are notorious for harboring these nasty little viruses. Make sure you use some strong protection if you’re going to visit these sites. A good virus software, that scans websites as well as emails, should be used when you travel this part of the web.

No virus protection. Many viruses appear on brand new computers. The reason for this is that people don’t install virus protection software immediately. Most new computers come with a trial version of virus software installed. It just needs to be activated and updated. Waiting for even one day can expose you to many virus threats that would normally be caught by the software.

Virus protection not updated. Your virus software generally can be set to update at certain time intervals, or whenever there is a new update available. Sometimes people make the mistake of canceling a virus update instead of letting it download. This makes their computer vulnerable to the newest and greatest viruses out there.
Expired virus protection. People who bought virus protection software sometimes allow it to expire and don’t renew the license right away. Without the license renewal, the software will no longer receive updates and may quit providing protection at all. If you can’t afford to renew your current virus protection, there are several sources of free virus protection software on the web.

Spam. Unsolicited emails that show up in your inbox, also referred to as junk mail, carry a higher risk of containing a virus. Since these emails are not sent from individuals you know, it is always best to leave any attachments in these types of emails unopened.

A good anti-virus software is essential to anyone who uses email and browses the web. Set it to download updates every time a new update is available and setup a regular virus scan of your computer once a week to check for any viruses or spyware that may have crept through the first line of defense. Play it safe!

(source: dslservice-providers.com/blog)