Tips For Preventing Computer Viruses
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Tips For Preventing Computer Viruses
For a quick summary of how to prevent computer viruses from infecting your devices:
- Always have a backup. Should the worst happen, nothing can get you back up and running faster than having a backup of all your critical files & programs. Before anything else, ensure you have a regular backup system in place.
- Never download programs from untrusted sites. Viruses often get on your computer via an infected program. Always download software from the original supplier or a trusted third-party website.
- Be cautious when opening email attachments. Viruses can enter your system via a malicious email attachment. Often this is achieved by an email from a compromised contact that has fallen victim to a virus himself/herself.
- Disable image previews in your email client. Some viruses can be transmitted simply by previewing an email with infected images. Disable your email client’s image preview and only view images from trusted sources.
- Use an anti-malware solution. This software will look out for threats, remove any it finds, and provide you with the ability to run ad-hoc full system scans.
- Use a firewall. On the front line of defense, the firewall can block third parties from activating a virus on your computer.
- Regularly update your OS. All software, especially operating systems, require constant updates to protect your computer from the latest threats.
- Monitor all devices proactively. Viruses can spread quickly from computer to computer – monitor your devices to check for disabled firewalls, missing antivirus solutions, and OS updates.
- Utilize Administrator rights. Admin rights prevent changes being made without your knowledge by forcing an Admin password to be required any time a change is made.
- Pay attention to virus warnings and notifications. Your antivirus solution should provide you with notifications or warnings in one form or another. As soon as one appears, take it seriously, and take action.
- Inform your IT department. As soon as you suspect a computer virus infection inform your IT department so that they can nullify the threat before it spreads.
- Take care in removing the virus. A cautious yet thorough approach is more likely to effectively remove the virus from your computer’s system, whilst maintaining the integrity of your data and programs.