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Fighting off Viruses: Advancements in Antivirus Software Suites
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| Monday, January 5, 2009 |
Protecting your computer from viruses is increasingly difficult and more difficult each day. If May border on paranoia, it goes without saying that you can not leave your guard down for a second. Even corporate giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.
Remember the good old days "before the advent of the Internet and downloads? Life was simple in terms of computer viruses. With the first way in which a virus can be transmitted being limited to a floppy disk, the ability to capture and eliminate the virus was much easier. According to today's standards, it used to take some time before a virus was able to infect a computer and slow down the system. Antivirus software at the time was generally able to identify and eliminate viruses before they cause too much damage. In addition, computer users are informed enough about how to protect themselves in terms of scanning all floppy disks before copying it to our office.
The Internet has helped change all that. The Internet has provided a conduit through which the virus can move from host to another with lightning speed. No longer a user can only worry about floppy disks as points of entry, but they have to worry about email attachments, peer-to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, downloads and software. Today, viruses can attack through multiple entry points, the spread without human intervention, and take full advantage of vulnerabilities within a system or program. With technology advancing every day, and the convergence of computers with other mobile devices, the potential of new types of threats also increase.
Protecting your computer
Fortunately, the advancement of antivirus software has kept pace with current virus threats. Antivirus software is essential for a computer the ability to repel viruses and other malicious programs. These products are designed to protect against the possibility of a virus entering a computer through email, web browsers, file servers and workstations. In addition, these programs offer a centralized control that deal with the deployment, configuration and updating.
A computer user should be diligent and follow a few simple steps to protect itself against the threat of a virus:
1. Evaluate your current computer security system.
With the threat of a new generation of viruses that can attack in many ways, the approach of having a single version of antivirus software has become obsolete. You must be satisfied that you have all aspects of protecting your computer from the desktop to the network and gateway on the server. Consider a security system more comprehensive, which includes several functions, including antivirus, firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection. This type of system will make it harder for viruses to penetrate your system.
2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-known, reputable company.
Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important to regularly update your antivirus software. Getting familiar with the software real-time scanning and set to start automatically whenever you start your computer. This will protect your system by controlling your computer automatically each time it is switched on.
3. Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or files, regardless of where they originate.
4. Be careful when opening binary, Word, Excel or documents from unknown sources, especially if they are received during an online discussion or as an attachment to an email.
5. Perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. May it be the only way to recover your data if infected.
Recommended Antivirus Software
There are many applications available to consumers. With a little research, you can choose the program that is right for you. Many programs offer a trial version that lets you download the program and test its capabilities. However, be aware that some anti-virus programs can be difficult to uninstall. As a precaution, make sure to put in place a system restore point before installing.
Some programs that generally receive high marks in terms of cost, efficiency, ease of use and customer service.
The Shield Pro 2005 ™ offers protection against viruses and hackers security through the support and updates. When a virus breaks out, The Shield Pro 2005 ™ promises to provide a patch within 2-3 hours and a fix for the virus within 5 hours. You can configure your computer to update viruses weekly and run a virus scan.
BitDefender 9 Standard provides antivirus protection, as well as Peer-2-Peer Applications protection, full email protection and heuristics in a virtual environment. This provides another layer of security that prevents the operating system safe from unknown viruses by detecting malicious pieces of code for which signatures have not yet been released.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 program is simple to install and use. The user need only choose between three levels of protection. It allows updates as often as every hour while promising not to disrupt your computer. The program also offers a dual function of protection and e-mail at any time technical support.
PC-cillin Internet Security combines antivirus security and a personal firewall for comprehensive protection against viruses, worms, Trojans and hackers. It detects and removes spyware and blocks spam. It is even guard against identity theft by blocking phishing and pharming attacks.
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a free downloadable antivirus which received high marks for its reliability. In the past, free antivirus programs have been viewed with skepticism because of questions about its reliability. However, AVG from Grisoft, remains one of the best known anti-virus programs available. If AVG can not be installed on a server operating system and there is no technical support, it is still a good choice for many computer users at home. The best part is that since it is free, you can try it without any further obligation required. |
posted by neptunus @ 2:05 AM
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