Why It is Important to Protect Your Computer from Viruses

There are hundreds of viruses and other malicious applications spreading over the Internet daily. These programs wreak havoc to your computer if you do not have the necessary protection to prevent their infection. Understanding why you should spend the time and money to install trusted antivirus software is an important step to take in order to keep your computer safe from viruses.

Targeted Systems
Windows based computers are the most common victims of virus attacks. You seldom hear about viruses infecting UNIX and Macintosh based systems, but it is certainly possible. A malicious code can be written to infect UNIX or Mac based systems and produce devastating effects similar to what Windows systems can experience. Prior to the release of McAfee Antivirus in 1997, experts had already discovered the existence of such threats.

In recent days, Windows based systems have been the target of the majority of viruses and have faced the harmful effects of these malware programs. Virus makers are targeting mostly on systems running with Microsoft’s operating system due to its popularity. Almost 98% percent of the viruses unleashed have damaged Windows based systems – resulting in billions of dollars of lost data and productivity, and the loss of an unimaginable amount of vital business information and personal information. Believe me, there is still more to come and the only way to feel 100% safe is to protect your PC with the best defenses available.

The invention of portable storage devices has greatly contributed to the existing risk in computer viruses. Flash drives, CD’s and DVD’s, portable game consoles, MP3 players, and the almost obsolete diskettes are carriers of viruses that help spread their payloads to a computer. Inserting any of these devices on a computer system without any precautionary measures is like feeding your self to the lions.

File Extensions
One thing that you can do to protect your computer from viruses is acquiring knowledge with file extensions. Yes, this can help a lot. Many computer users are unaware of what file extensions are and what threats they pose on a system. File extensions are the suffixes included at the end of the filename. Receiving emails with attached documents is a common practice at work. But do you know that it is also the most successful and common way to spread viruses?

Documents containing common file exensions like .doc and .xls are legitimate files. They may be legitimate, but they are sometimes deadly. Macros coded to ruin a computer can be embedded and launched within these files as easy as opening the document itself. There is the start of a virus reigning on your system. So, when receiving files from the Internet with these extensions, always perform a scan on them.

How Antivirus Software Protects You
Antivirus software usually uses two alternative techniques for detection.
1) It scans files for viruses that match the definitions given in virus dictionaries
2) It identifies infection indicated by suspicious behavior from some computer program.

Anti-virus programs store the characteristics and definitions of known viruses and malware programs. Their signatures are already stored and labled, so any future occurrence of similar programs will immediately be treated with advance measures by antivirus software. However, not all viruses share the same characteristics. Each has a unique way of penetrating a system and avoiding detection from both the user and installed security protection.

This is why it is important to install antivirus software that is constantly kept up-to-date by the manufacturer. New threats are introduced every day, and updates to protect your computer are vital to keeping your PC safe.

Conclusion
It should be clear now how important it is to keep your computer safe from viruses. Knowledge about protecting yourself is your first step in preventing the loss of your data. Protecting your PC is the key to avoiding huge headaches and wasted time that will accompany infection of your computer.