Viruses Yuck!

I’ve blogged about this before but it’s good to repeat it in another view point because when a virus hits your computer your first instinct may be to panic. Or you may simply be inclined to toss your computer out your window and start from scratch. Hold on, before you take drastic action, take a few deep breaths and go through these few tips and strategies to deal with viruses.

#1 Understand what a virus is. According to teach-nology “Viruses are programs that infect other programs, or files containing macros (a series of commands grouped together to automate a complex series of tasks) such as Microsoft Word files, Microsoft Excel files and executable files.” 

Contrary to popular belief, viruses cannot infect:

* Plain Text Files
* E-Mail Messages
* Web Pages
* Pictures
* Chat Groups

Like the common cold or flu, a computer virus makes copies of itself, and is unable to exist without a host. The virus will embed itself into the code of the software and isn’t effective or activated until you use the software. Once the program is accessed, the virus is released and will infect other programs and files on your computer. And if you send those infected programs or files to others, they’ll catch your virus too.

#2  Know that not all viruses are harmful. Some viruses simply slow down your computer, or can cause strange things to happen to your computer, like programs starting and ending without you initiating them. Some just collect information from your computer such as adware or spyware.

That being said, some viruses are designed to destroy files, corrupt programs and wreak havoc. While all viruses should be purged from your computer it’s the destructive ones that you really want to worry about.

#3  When you’re infected with a virus. While anti-virus software can often go a long way toward recognizing, preventing and purging viruses from your computer, many experts recommend reformatting your hard drive once you’ve caught a virus. If you know what virus you’ve caught, you can hop online to your software support or tech support site and find the resolution. Sometimes a few steps can clear the problem without too much damage to your files and software.
 
Finally, the best way to deal with viruses is to not get them in the first place.

* Install an anti-virus and anti spyware program – my fav is Avast 
* Don’t open emails from unknown senders with attachments
* Don’t download items from the internet if you don’t 100% trust or know the source (it’s estimated that 70% of the viruses are contracted by downloading stuff from the internet).
* And last but not least, backup, backup, backup! That way if you do get hit by a virus, you won’t lose everything.

Viruses can be a real pain and chances are, if you haven’t already had to deal with one, you will at some point in time. The good news is that if you take measures to back up your files on a regular basis and you pay attention to what’s going on on your computer, you’ll likely be able to catch that virus before it spreads too far.