Any computer is vulnerable to become infected with different forms of electronic virus. It is important for computer users to be aware that their units are open to getting viruses, spyware and other malware anytime during their usage, thus proper use and protection is needed to defend it from malicious software.
A virus is a small program that when executed is capable of replicating and reproducing itself through modifying or inserting itself to your program files. It will run and spread into other files and program that would cause great harm and interfere with the computer operation.
There are several ways wherein viruses can get into your computer system and these are as follows:
Internet pop-ups
Pop up ads are annoying especially when you are doing something important, most often these pop-ups are designed to look like a trusted program warning. There are times when you unintentionally click on it particularly when in a hurry to close it.
To help prevent pop-ups from occurring, disable internet pop-ups through “Block pop-ups” option in your browser settings.
Be aware of e-mail links or file attachments
Never click on the link nor open an attachment if it does not come from a trusted source or if it looks suspicious. It is best advised not to open it as some e-mail viruses automatically launch upon viewing the infected message. It would be wise to verify if the email is legitimate especially if it looks good to be true. Bear in mind that businesses will never request sensitive details and information via email as it is one of the least secure ways of communicating.
Trojan horse attack
A Trojan horse is a simple computer program. It cannot reproduce itself within an infected unit but will slow down your computer. It may claim as an email alert regarding a new security patch or a new game. It is frequently presented as an .exe file on an email attachment, once downloaded and installed it will start to drop a malicious payload including a backdoor allowing unauthorized access to the target computer.
Trojan horses are commonly used by hackers to gain remote control on a system either to steal information or harm their host computer systems.
Replicating Worms
A Worm copies and replicates itself using your files. One way to detect a worm infection is to check on your files which has a double extension like .txt, .vb, .jpeg or .exe.
If you’ve been noticing double file extensions on your program files, right click on the file then select properties and you will find out its true name and the kind of extension it has. Immediately remove it by deleting and run your antivirus to scan other possible hidden extensions. Make sure to include hidden files when you do a system scan.
You can keep a low risk of getting viruses by clearing your browser’s cache regularly.
Thanks for this very helpful post! My computer has just been infected by virus for the the umpteenth time! Yep, it came from a very legit looking e-mail attachment I opened!
I am always afraid that a computer virus is going to infect my computer – I cannot afford to buy or repair it at this time. Thank you for the information
i often get email in my spam folder that look suspicious
Thanks for the tips. I’m super paranoid when it comes to browsing the internet or opening certain emails, even those spam texts.
This is a great beware article. I lost everything in my laptop hard drive from a pop up virus a couple years ago!
Thank you for the tips to safe-guard my computer.
I have a mac so thankfully I don’t have to worry about viruses as much as people with PCs do. That would have to be a royal pain.
Great post — I had the “honor” of having my laptop infected by some Trojan Horse — had to spend $100 to fix the darn thing. I did download AVG but didn’t know about clearing out your browser’s cache — thanks for the tip!
I know almost nothing about these things so this post is really helpful! Thanks!
I can’t stand that people are always trying to do something to hurt each other. Why does someone want to send viruses to another person maliciously? Thanks for the tips. I am always looking for viruses on my comp too.