How To Prevent Viruses And Malware From Attacking Your Computer

IT analysts state that every day, about 150,000 computer viruses circulate globally and around 148,000 computers are at risk daily. These viruses and malware do not simply annoy and bother the millions of computer users: they can also cost individuals and organizations thousands of dollars due to the damages and security attacks they cause.

There are several things you can do to avoid viruses and malware from attacking your computer. Below are some of these helpful tips and hints:

How To Prevent Viruses And Malware From Attacking Your Computer

• Always have anti-virus software installed and running in your computer's system. Doing this is your first line of defence against the hundreds of viruses and malwares that are proliferating around the World Wide Web. IT experts also highly recommend that you always keep the definition database updated and the software runs both manual and automated virus scans regularly.

• Automate security updates. When you do this, you can be sure that your computer will always have the most recent form or updates of software and anti-virus programs.

• Enable your system's firewall. A firewall is a system-level software component that prevents unauthorized access to your computer by others through a network or Internet connection. Most new operating systems already have built-in firewalls that are highly efficient and effective. For older ones, you need to buy and have firewall software installed on the computer.

• Always be cautious of opening any e-mail attachment. Even when you know the sender, it is still possible that their efforts to prevent attacks were not enough and that a threat has infected their system. And this virus or malware was also passed onto you via some seemingly harmless e-mail. If you are the not sure about the contents and attachment of any e-mail you received, you can always contact the sender to verify if they really sent to this.

• Always encrypt your files, hard drives and backup disks. By following this tip, only authorized users with the valid password can have access to your sensitive data.

• Have perimeter security solutions installed on your network. Web hosting experts recommend installing and using an Intrusion Detection System and the Intrusion Prevention program in addition to the Firewall so that any kind of threat can be detected and thwarted immediately.

• Review your network security features periodically. Keep yourself updated when it comes to new security threats and improved solutions by visiting your security software or service vendor websites. Also, always keep up with news about the latest computer threats. If you hear of or read something from a legitimate source, update your security software immediately and make sure that the particular threat is covered.

• Lastly, IT experts say that you have to be extra careful when loading external media such as flash drives without scanning them. In addition, when using the different social networking sites, be careful about clicking any links that look suspicious.