Enough people have recently asked me about protecting their computers
from viruses that I thought maybe a few of you might like a little
input.
First of all, DO NOT open up any email that is from anyone your
don't know or is offering something for sale, wanting to be friends,
or any other suspicious crap.
Secondly, don't download anything from the Internet unless you
know for certain you are dealing with a legitimate and trustworthy
business or organization.
Third, make sure you have a good anti-virus program that is
constantly active in the background while you are on the Internet.
Lots of the more popular commercial programs do the job but they
frequently cause problems with the host PC. A frequent complaint is
that they slow everything down. All I can tell you is that I haven't
had a problem with viruses in years (knock on a synthetic surface)
and the virus program I've been using all that time is one that is
available for free. Yes, for free! AVG by Grisoft. It
checks all your incoming and outgoing email and is constantly active
in the background without having any detrimental effect on the speed
or operation of your computer. Grisoft frequently offers updates
which may be rapidly downloaded and are self-installing. You can
also schedule an automatic and complete anti-virus sweep of all your
drives during a time when you're not using the PC. Seriously, it is
the best I have ever found. You may download it from,
http://free.avg.com/ww.download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition.
They also make available more full-featured versions but they are
very expensive for a typical homeowner.
