Internet Security

How to avoid virus or spyware infection?

New viruses, spyware and worms are emerging every day looking their way into your Windows PC. Windows is the most popular operating system used today, thus most virus producers focus on that system.

1. Beware of the email. Email messages are the most common way of getting a virus. Most of the time, you are safe to open emails, but remember to never, ever click any link in that message, no matter how much tempting it may look like. You may only click links in messages that you've verified are 100% from genuine sources.

You also want to check if the URL leads you where it says: hover your mouse over the link and the status bar will show you the actual URL address you are going to visit if you click that link. If the link isn't consistent with the URL, be assured you are being scammed.


2. Sometimes while you work, a strange pop-up window may come up on the screen informing you that a virus has been found on your system and you need to click it to resolve the problem. Don't even think about doing it. Crackers and cybercriminals have found ways to display such messages remotely on poorly secured Windows systems and they simply want to scam you into doing something evil to your computer. Clicking that window may result in deleting all your disk files or installing highly dangerous spyware that may be used to track your online activity or to turn your computer into a zombie (which may be used to conduct online crime, such as Massive Denial of Service Attacks).


3. Be careful when dealing with instant messaging. Instant messengers are often used by criminals to send spam, and scam messages that can also contain viruses. Remember to never open any file, may it be sound, video, picture or text, if the message they are in is not from your buddy.

Some documents, including video files, can be really dangerous. Crackers have already discovered ways to smuggle viruses using video files, so be careful before opening any of these.


4. Don't download any files from any dubious website. If you are suspecting the site you are visiting may not be 100% legitimate or you are visiting a site that is not well-known to be safe, refrain from downloading any software. Don't download any documents, may it be executable file, Word file or any other file. All of them may be a virus.