David's Daily Tech Tip
Viruses VS. Anti-Virus programs.
I get the question all the time, "How did I get a virus? I have an anti-virus program"
Simply put, no anti-virus program is fool-proof. Viruses change daily, sometimes hourly. Viruses are a part of using the internet. Internet pages are sometimes infected and just visiting a infected site can infect your PC. There are a few different keys to minimizing the chance of getting a virus. Use these techniques and let us know if they helped you.
1. Keep your anti-virus updated, never turn it off!
2. Use a anti-spyware program as well for a double check of what your anti-virus might miss. We recommend a program like Spybot Search & Destroy, however, there are many good ones to choose from.
3. Never download programs, movies, files, or music from peer to peer sites like Limewire. These sites are full of menacing people who want to harm your computer and will lure you to them with free items. These programs are full of viruses, keystroke programs and spyware. Yes they might work, but at what cost to you?
4. Use an anti-virus program with built in web search technology. This will help when you use Google or other search engines to look things up by checking the page that is listed in the engine search and letting you know if it is safe by putting a check mark next to the link. This assures that the page you Googled is safe to visit.
5. Use the email scanner of your anti-virus program, this is available with Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail or other Outlook type programs like Thunderbird (a Mozilla product). This will scan your incoming and outgoing email, checking for any possible infections and warning you before you download or forward on to a friend.
These few tips should help you avoid any nasty virus that your PC anti-virus program can't handle. Remember if you need us to remove a virus or spyware, we can help get you back on the web safely.
