In the early days of personal computers the fear of a machine getting infected with a virus was very low. After all, the internet wasn’t widely used in most areas and there were no websites to visit. Fast forward a decade and the story is much different. Virus attacks are common place, and the number of people losing their machines continues to go up.
If you are asking yourself the reason for this unfortunate state that internet users face every day, there is no better answer than the advent of high speed internet. Most people in North America and other industrialized countries use high speed internet access, allowing people to go to a vast amount of sites quicker. Sadly, this also allows to unauthorized download finish quicker.
Back when the days that dial-up was the only form of internet access, it would often take several minutes to download a small file. Any virus or software trying to sneak and download itself could easily be detected, and in some cases, stopped. As download speed exponentially increased, it became almost impossible to stop an unwanted download. This has led to the development of pop up and spam blockers to protect computers against these threats.
Of course high speed internet isn’t the cause of the problem; it’s simply the delivery medium. Viruses and other malicious software were developed by people who hated certain operating system manufacturers. Some just enjoy making programs to destroy people’s computers. Of course the main threat has evolved from destruction to identity theft. This is usually accomplished by spyware infiltrating your system and monitoring your keystrokes.
Site names and passwords are recorded, and the data is sent out to its creators. The info is then used for identity theft related crimes. This makes having an antivirus software suite installed essential for safe computer operation. It also helps to have antispyware, adware, and malware programs installed for a full range of protection. There are free programs that are legitimate and easy to use, but some paid programs have all of these in one.
Some people might not want to purchase paid antivirus suites because of the cost. However, when you compare the $80.00 USD for the program suite to the $400.00 USD it would cost you to have your computer restored, the choice is not difficult to make. Even using legitimate programs that you can download for free help you in protecting your computer. These programs can be identified by the ratings they receive on websites and review articles.
Making your computer safe from threats is becoming a full time job. These threats that come in forms of viruses, spyware, adware, malware, pop ups, and a whole lot of other problems are in every corner of the World Wide Web. But there are ways to protect your machine, and save yourself from frustration and unwanted cost. For one, when going online, make it a point to keep safe internet practices.
This consists of avoiding suspicious links altogether, and ignoring emails that you do not expect. Make sure to have a firewall if you are using high speed internet. Oftentimes, built in computer firewall are not sufficient to protect your computer. And lastly, remember to back up important data on a weekly basis, just in case.
Dorthy Weatherbush keeps her computer healthy and in good working order by using Webroot. She gets anti-virus software, spy sweeper and much more with Webroot so she doesn’t worry about her computer getting swine flu!
categories: computer protection,computer viruses,spyware,malware,adware,Computer protection,computer security