Not having an antivirus program is akin to leaving all your doors unlocked and sitting blindfolded with soundproof earmuffs on, inside your house. Because the Internet provides a perfect platform for silent pests, you need something that pick up anything suspicious and get rid of it or block it. Not to mention the fact that these destructive virus programs are getting updated daily. So keep your antivirus fresh as well.

 

There are so many more ways to be attacked than simply by a virus. There are people phishing for your personal information to assume your identity. There are hackers just trying to damage your website simply because they can. There are programs that try and get to wreak havoc, and some that plant themselves in and send out information. So many ways to attack. Get a good, reputable antivirus program. You might find cheaper alternatives here and there, but will it give you adequate protection?

 

An email worm can be very bad. A good antivirus that checks incoming and outgoing mail is recommended. A worm travels into your address book, and sends itself out to everyone in it, and so on. In fact it has probably come from someone you know. The sender may seem familiar, but if anything makes you suspicious, don't open it. Don't click on links in email unless you are certain of the source, write and ask if you aren't sure.

 

Trojan virus can hijack your homepage, and bring up whatever page they want to. Generally this is pornographic, or something similar, and many can be very hard to get rid. Some you can delete it time and again but they keep a hidden file, which activates on start up to replace deleted files. So many of the threats are not a true virus, but good antivirus software will address these as well in protection issues. The three main threats on a day to day basis are the virus, trojan and worm and these are known as malware.

 

At the worst a virus can take down you computer system, at best it will occupy memory space and cost you to remove it. But it all has an effect. Another type of virus are macro. These spread on the applications that use macros, like excel and word. So be very sure to protect your computer in every way possible. This will alleviate the embarrassment and guilt of transferring something to someone else's computer as well.

 

New malware programs are developed everyday. So get regular updates and sign up to report findings back to your antivirus supplier will help protect your computer. This will help them target new strains.