Fighting off Viruses: Advancements in Antivirus Software Suites

Protecting your computer against a virus is becoming increasingly difficult every day. While it may border on the paranoid, you cannot drop your guard for one second of course. Even Microsoft, the corporate titan, has discovered its own systems more than once infiltrated.

Do you remember the "good old days," the web advent and downloadable programs? Life was then easy in computer viruses. With the primary means in which a virus might be propagated on disks, it was much easier to capture and remove the pathogen. It took quite a bit, according to current standards, before a virus infected a computer and slowed down the system. The anti-virus software was often capable of identifying and eradicating viruses before causing too much damage. In addition, computer users were rather knowledgeable about how to protect themselves by inspecting all hard drives before they were copied to our desktop.

The Internet has contributed to changing all this. The internet created a pipe through which viruses might move with a lightning speed from host to host. A computer user could no longer merely worry about floppy discs as entry points, however, email, peer-to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software downloads were now to worry about. Viruses today may attack through various inputs, spread without human participation, and take full advantage of system and program vulnerabilities. The potential of new kinds of dangers also increases with technology increasing every day and the convergence of computers with other mobile devices.

Your computer is protected

Fortunately, the progress of antivirus software has kept pace with modern dangers to viruses. Antivirus software is necessary to prevent viruses and other dangerous applications from being reported by a computer. These devices are designed to keep the virus from entering computers via email, online browsers, file servers and desktops. These apps also include a centralized control feature to operate, configure and update.
A computer user should be cautious and take a few easy procedures to protect against a virus:

The threat of a new generation of viruses that can strike in multiple ways has superseded the strategy of only one antivirus software version. You need to make sure that all components of your computer system have been protected from the desktop to the network and the gateway to the server. Consider a broader safety system with various capabilities like antivirus, firewall, content filtering and intrusion detection. This type of technology makes it harder for the virus to access your system.

2. Only install antivirus software produced by a trustworthy and well-known company.
Due to the frequent outbreak of new infections, it is vital to update your antivirus software often. Get comfortable with the real-time scanning functionality of the software and set it to start automatically each time you boot your computer. This protects your system by inspecting your computer automatically every time it is powered up.

3. Make it a practice to check all new programs or files, regardless of their origin.

 
4. Be careful when opening unfamiliar sources of binary, Word, or Excel documents, especially when receiving documents in an online conversation or e-mail attachment.

 
5. Regular backups should your system be corrupted. 5. It can be the only way to recover your information if it is infected.

Antivirus Software Recommended

Consumers have several applications available. You can choose the program that is best for you with a little study. Many programs feature a test version that allows you to download and test the program. However, be warned that it is difficult to uninstall some anti-virus products. Make sure you set up a system restore point before installation as a precaution.

Here are a few traditionally high-priced programs in terms of cost, efficiency, convenience of use and customer service.

The Shield Pro 2005TM provides continuing support and updates for protection against viruses and hacker security. When a virus breaks out, the Shield Pro 2005TM provides a patch for the infection within 2 to 3 hours and a remedy within 5 hours. You can schedule a weekly virus update on your computer and run a full virus check.

BitDefender 9 Standard offers antivirus protection, Peer-2-Peer protection, comprehensive email coverage and virtual heuristics. This offers a new security layer that protects the operating system against unknown viruses by detecting dangerous code chunks that have not yet been signed.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 is an easy to install and use tool. The user merely has to choose from three protection tiers. It permits updates as often as every hour and promises not to interrupt your computer. The application also provides a two-tier email protection function and technical help 24 hours a day.

PC-cillin Internet Security combines antivirus with a personal firewall for the full protection of viruses, worms, trojans and hackers. Spyware and spam blocks are also detected and deleted. It even protects against theft of identity by combating phishing and pharmaceutical threats.

The free antivirus program AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition has received high reliability ratings. Free downloaded antivirus products have in the past been viewed with skepticism as a result of reliability problems. But Grisoft's AVG remains one of the most popular free anti-virus apps accessible. Although AVG cannot be installed on a server operating system and there is no technical assistance, many personal computer users still have a solid choice. The best thing is that since it is free, it may be tried without any further obligation.