You may have heard it said there is no cure for the common cold. Yet it seems a majority of us will suffer its effects at some point each year. You may feel the same about computer viruses: What is a computer virus? Where do they come from? How can you avoid catching the infection? What can you do once you’ve been infected?

The term “comptuer virus” is often used to refer to several types of things, including malware, spyware, and adware, though a true virus is an invasive program that is capable of copying itself and spreading from machine to machine. Some of these are more annoying than destructive, but some can complete destroy the functionality of your computer.

Infection can come from a variety of sources, including email attachments, web sites, or sharing files. In the fast-paced technological word we live in, it’s obvious we are all vulnerable to catching a “computer cold!” But there are some basic

prevention steps!

1. Use anti-virus protection software! If you are a retainer client with Anchor Point, you are automatically provided with our managed services software. We keep it up to date, manage the quarantined files for you, and run scans as needed! Other commonly used anti-virus software programs that can be purchased are Symantec or McAfee. It’s important to set any anti-virus software to run regular scans and updates on a regular basis.
2. Don’t click on questionable prompts! Many times users receive prompts to install things like “Anti-Virus 2009″ or “Microsoft Spyware Protect 2009.” Sounds legit doesn’t it! These are basically installation prompts for malware! If you do mistakenly click on something like this, please let us know right away so we can take a look. If you ever have any question about the legitimacy of a computer prompt you receive, ask us!

1. Don’t trust automatic redirects! As you are web browsing, if you are sent to another site automatically, a good test is to open a new browser page and type the web address in the address bar to see if it directs you to the same place. If it doesn’t, don’t trust that site!
2. Don’t open attachments you aren’t expecting or from someone you don’t know!

Even if you are well protected and take extra precautions, it is still possible to become infected. If you feel like your computer isn’t operating correctly, please contact us! We’ll dish up some chicken soup for your computer and you’ll be back to normal in no time!