Who Do You Trust? Antivirus Software
Using multiple layers of security is the best way to protect your computer and information online. In previous articles in my “Who Do You Trust?” Series, I’ve talked about passwords, Internet routers, and firewalls as layers of protection. In this article, I’ll talk about another layer that is an essential part of the multi-layered approach to computer security, anti-virus software.
“Antivirus or anti-virus software is software used to prevent, detect and remove malware, such as: computer viruses, adware, backdoors, BHOs, dialers, fraudsters, hijackers, hackers, malicious LSPs , rootkits, spyware, Trojans and Trojans. “- Wikipedia
Are you still scared? You want to prevent all this, right? Credit card numbers, bank account numbers and passwords, as well as social security numbers are things that everyone should carefully protect for obvious reasons. But even if they take reasonable precautions to protect their personal information and valuables in many ways, some will leave their guard online where they are most vulnerable.
Even the least damaging viral infections are expensive, but the worst case can be devastating! If you are lucky and none of your financial or personal information is stolen, you may lose the use of your computer, documents, images, music or other support and software. that you bought. Time without a computer and the time needed to recreate or restore documents result in real costs. The removal of viruses by a reputable professional can also be expensive. I will keep virus removal for a later article, but, let’s just say this, you should get help from a professional to eliminate viruses.
One of the most insidious effects of a viral infection is the fear of not having them all removed or having removed them too late and someone already has your information. Yes, I experienced this fear first hand. I remove viruses and spyware from computers as a professional, and I removed viruses from my own computers. Believe me when I say, I know it’s important to be thorough when cleaning viruses from a computer!
Here are the most important considerations for the security layer of antivirus software:
Update your software often.
Use recognized antivirus software that also protects you from spyware.
Update your antivirus software automatically and daily.
Configure your antivirus software for real-time protection and scheduled file scanning.
Do not open attachments in an email unless you know they come from a trusted source.
Do not download files from the Internet unless you know they come from a trusted source.
Use your antivirus software to scan e-mail attachments and files downloaded from the Internet before you open them, regardless of their source.
Do not use peer to peer file sharing programs. These include programs such as Limewire, Bearshare, Gnutella, Morpheus, Torrents, etc.
Do not download software from pirated or pirated software websites of Warez
In future articles in the “Who Do You Trust” series, we’ll cover social engineering, phishing and website security certificates.