A Beginner's Guide to Avoiding Viruses

I've been invaded by a virus! "Getting means getting sick and no one in their right mind wants to be sick a virus. Well, now that computers have become our close friends, it's a shock to learn that foreign bodies too can invade with malicious intent. No, your computer does not get a runny nose or diarrhea. This is a disease that prevents your friend functioning properly, sick in bed, unable. 

Well in nature viruses occur from a power outside of our control. But with computers it's different, humans, mean or ignorant humans are creating these viruses. Why? Usually these are disgruntled people who want to cause havoc on others or companies they believe have hurt for them. In all cases, we must be aware and willing to deal with these debilitating scourges.

There are several approaches to protecting your computer. First, there is the step of awareness. Be aware of how the virus is transmitted. You can catch them from a disk, but in most cases this is because of your messaging system. Check your email address carefully. Be very wary of anything that has an attachment. Make sure it is from and see the title of the e-mail, is this something you expected? Even if it is someone you know, be careful that their computer may be infected and the virus being transmitted without their knowledge.  

Then read the cover message, you can not catch the disease without actually opening the message. Look at the name of the attachment, remember viruses are written to entice you. Beware of free and generally all the people you do not know, as well as messages that sound irrelevant usual style of your contact offers. Delete them immediately. Delete, delete, delete. This will ensure a low risk of infection. You can even send the message to the sender without opening it to ensure it is valid.  

Now for the heavy protection: Virus scanning and anti-virus software, and spares are readily available and used. Some are free, others are obtained for a very low cost. Most software manufacturers offer subscriptions for updating services, which automatically download protection latest viruses.  

There are two main types of virus scanning software: one searches through your entire computer files looking for recognizable viral signatures, the other scans your incoming and outgoing e-mails. Alerts show you when a file should be removed or repaired. If you do get a virus that no software can repair you can send a copy of it to a company like Symantec who will be happy to develop a cure for it.  

The main message here is not too worried about your good friend Mrs. PC getting sick or ill. Humans are above the case and they seem much better suited to fixing their technology they are beating the viruses that attack our physical bodies. If only we could beat a human virus and illness as easily as we solve the problem of the computer disease.

10 Secrets To A Healthy Computer And A Happier You

There comes a time in a person's life where no matter how much you fight it time takes its toll and we begin to slow down in how we perform our daily activities. However, in order to extend our youthful glow and energy levels it is important to eat well, exercise, and keep a positive outlook on life.Now you may ask what all this had to do with "Secrets to a healthy computer?"

 Well, in a sense, we are all like a computer. If you neglect to take care of yourself you will soon cease to function properly and the many tasks that were once easy to do now take twice as long to accomplish and often require you to rest or "reboot" after a malfunction .I can not tell you what foods to eat or what exercises to do because I am not a nutritionist. Although, with my experiences in the field of personal computing, I can share with you some tips on how to keep that rectangle box of circuitry that is within the operating range of sites at the maximum performance as time permits. 

  

Some important steps to follow are ... 

-Make sure your computer is located in a well ventilated area and that all air vents are unobstructed to prevent overheating and premature failure of internal components. 

-Clean the dust at least every 6 months from inside the computer case including case vents, power and all visible circuitry with a few cans mouths of compressed air that can be purchased from any major computer store or electronics outlet. This will help reduce the risk of overheating and damage circuits.Before cleaning just be certain to always unplug the computer from the wall outlet and never physically contact the circuitry inside the computer case to prevent damage. 

-Be prepared for unexpected always make backups of your important data that you do not have and can not afford to lose failure.I personally keep updated backups of my website and even store the disks in a remote location away from my every day use computers just in case a disaster were to occur and my main computers were destroyed where the need for lost files. 

-Purchase and install a well known anti-virus program that can be regularly updated with the latest virus definitions and ran during boot to help protect your computer from being the victim of an unwanted infestation. 

-Every two months run "Scandisk" program on your computer follow the "Defragmenter" program to maximize the effectiveness of your hard drive.If you are unsure how to use these utilities and being that the steps to execute these programs varies slightly from one operating system to another, it would be easier to just use the option " Help "which can be found by clicking on the START button button located on the desktop of your computer.The start menu will open a drop-down list box that should display the "Help" option. By going there, you can enter the keywords that deal with the answers to the question you are looking for. 

-Start your "Disk Cleanup" utility computers every two weeks or more. If the value of the "Disk Cleanup" utility will automatically empty the recycling bin and recover wasted disk space by deleting temporary Internet files that always seem to accumulate.Again, use the "Help" option if you are unsure of how to perform this task. 

-Never smoke near a computer because the fans will pull the smoke in the event that it may cover the internal parts of the computer with a residue which in turn can damage sensitive components. 

-Place the computer case in an area where it will not be accidentally kicked or bumped to prevent the loosening of cables and damage to internal components. 

-Invest in a high quality surge protector to provide your computer and monitor against voltage spikes or "surges" that can dramatically shorten the life of your system. Like most items in a store, "You get what you pay for." So do not skimp on this important device!Its also not a bad idea to invest in a surge protector that includes what is called a "Protector online data" which allows you to connect your phone lines and plays the same role for the telephone line to your modem as the protector Surge is for lines household electrical current. 

-Finally, if you plan to be away from home for more than a few days at a time, or if there is a storm brewing in your area, it's a very wise decision to always unplug all electrical lines and modem telephone lines from your system. Even with a surge protector installed, it is possible that such a large voltage spike such as that caused by a lightning strike could prove fatal to any computer system.