Will Your Antivirus Program Keep You Safe?

Will Your Antivirus Program Keep You Safe?       If you have had a virus in the past, you probably already know the answer to this question. Most antivirus programs are pretty good at protecting you from viruses that have been around for a while, but are not very good at protecting you from new viruses. How does one keep viruses off of their computer you may ask? Unfortunately there is no one simple answer. Your defense must be multi-faceted. Here are the items you need to remember. 1. Antivirus Program -  Definitions need to be kept up-to-date and you should schedule a a virus scan every couple of weeks. You should have a second passive antivirus program to scan your system  with to make sure your primary antivirus program hasn't missed anything. 2. Firewall - A firewall does not detect or remove viruses, but if your antivirus fails to detect a virus on your PC, your firewall should notify you of the virus activity. Your firewall monitors communications entering and leaving your computer. 3. Keep System Updated - Many viruses take advantage of security weaknesses in the programs on your computer. Windows can be setup to automatically download patches to fix these security holes. Many viruses are written to take advantage of security weaknesses in your Internet browser,  Java, Flashplayer, Adobe Acrobat Reader and other programs. All of these programs need to kept up to date as well. 4. Training - Many viruses are designed to take advantage of users lack of knowledge of viruses. Training is your best defense. 5. Parental Control Software - These programs are installed to keep children from getting to websites they should not be on. Many of these websites are the ones infected with viruses. If the kids cannot get on these sites, they obviously cannot download viruses. This software works for husbands too. :) 6. Backup Your Data - Sometimes the virus cannot be removed or sometimes  the viruses infects Windows files and when those files are removed, Windows fails to boot. If Windows cannot be fixed, the system may need to be wiped out and re-installed. Always have a recent backup of your data.

I started this blog today.