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Virus ProtectionThe most important computing advice is "back up your files", which helps to safeguard your data if you ever get a virus. The second most important principle is "run an anti-virus protection program". If your anti-virus program does not include a good firewall, you must obtain one of those as well. Modern computer viruses are more virulent than ever. It is critically essential for the protection of all of the valuable programs and information on your computer that you run a good anti-virus protection program. Most of these applications can regularly update their database over the Internet as the threats evolve and automatically keep your anti-virus protection up-to-date and your computer safe. FOSS. The following sites provide free open source software options: Indexes. The following indexes list companies that provide anti-virus protection programs and services: Commercial. The following anti-virus protection providers have been around for several years - check recent reviews:
Maintenance. Once you have installed anti-virus protection, take the following additional protective measures:
Infection. Computers that run good anti-virus protection usually don't get infected. However, if you are sure that your system has somehow got a virus anyway, you can take the following steps:
Keep in mind that anti-virus protection sometimes generates false alarms -- a common cause is when a program file has changed size but for a valid reason. Another common indicator that you may have a false alarm is if your anti-virus protection claims that a file may contains a virus but doesn't know the virus's name. Don't delete files unless the anti-virus protection software specifically recommends it, recognizes the viruses name, and it otherwise looks like a reasonable suggestion. Resources. The following sites provide more information on anti-virus protection: |