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It is essential to protect your computer against viruses and
similar malicious code (viruses and their relatives are software).
Tens of thousands of viruses, trojans and worms exist, and more
are created every day. They can be transmitted via email, over the
Web, on networks, and on portable media such as floppy disks and CDs.
There is a huge range in the effects caused by malicious software.
Most infections occur when someone opens an infected email
attachment.
Email-borne viruses are commonly cleverly disguised, and will
often disguised so as to appear to be sent by from people you know.
Although you can avoid most potential viruses by practicing
"safe computing", all it takes is one oops and the results could
be catastrophic. To protect yourself, run antivirus software.
Antivirus software is available from many vendors.
You can purchase a disk in a store, or download it from the Web.
Some vendors offer free trials; AVG offers a free
version.
No matter what product you use, remember:
- Antivirus software uses system resources (disk space, memory,
processing power). Check system requirements of a product before buying
to make sure your machine can handle it.
- Make sure the product you buy will run on your operating system (e.g.
your version of Windows). Some products will not run on some operating
systems.
- Update regularly via the Internet. Virus writers are busy
around the clock. Although antivirus vendors can predict some possible
future virus code and protect against it, they can't predict everything.
Most vendors provide a year of updates.
- Don't count on any product to be 100% effective - continue
practicing "safe computing".
- All software, including antivirus products, can have unforeseen
side-effects, such as a slowdown in your system, problems in downloading
mail, or conflicts with other software or peripheral devices.
- The BEC runs anti-virus software on its mailserver. While this
destroys viruses in email, it is NOT a substitute for at-home antivirus
software - viruses can travel in other ways.
There are many Internet
resources for further information:
- An overview of
computer viruses and antivirus software
- Antivirus.com
- National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Computer Security Division
- CIAC Virus
Information
- Hoaxbusters (They're not all
real)
For reviews of antivirus software:
Links to dozens of antivirus vendors:
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