Computers On The Run

Make sure when using your PC and you get virus popups that they are coming from YOUR anti-virus and not some Internet popup. These popups are misleading and could lead to a virus infection.

Make sure your anti-virus stays current and updated. Don’t let your anti-virus expire because you will not be protected against new threats.

Pop-ups can be very annoying but they can also be harmful to your computer. It is best not to click on pop-ups while browsing the internet as they can infect your computer with malware. It is best to have a pop-up blocker enabled or installed. Most browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox have pop-up blockers built right in.

You can check to see if your pop-up blocker is enabled by opening up Internet Explorer, click on Tools, then click pop-up blocker and make sure it is enabled.

The only way to prevent viruses and spyware from entering your PC while downloading music is by
using paid services to get your music. Software like Limewire and others will cause your system to get
infected easier. Not only can downloading music for free infect your computer with viruses but it is also ILLEGAL! Paying for software such as Limewire will not save you from infections or make it legal.

We recommend downloading music from one of the following locations:

Walmart Music Downloads

iTunes

If you have any questions about this tip or any others please feel free to give us a call at 308.381.0561

These 4 things will protect you from getting viruses.

1. Make sure your virus-protection software is up-to-date and active

2. Do not download & Install file-sharing programs
Ex: Limewire & Bearshare

3. Suspect every mail attachment
If you don’t know the person that sent it… don’t open it.

4. Protect yourself against other file-attachment viruses
Don’t open e-mail attachments if you don’t know the person and never open .exe files.

One question that comes up from time to time is what Anti-virus is better? The answer to that is they are pretty much all the same when it comes to straight anti-virus scanning. Some programs will have more features including spyware protection and firewall. The top dogs that provide anti-virus are listed below to explore your options.

Free anti-virus software is becoming more popular because people always like free things right? AVG Anti-virus provides the best anti-virus for what it offers at no cost to the customer. We have posted a article about anti-virus protection a few weeks back if you need to refer back to that. Below is a list of free and pay for anti-virus protection.

Remember if you don’t keep your anti-virus software current and updated, its almost like not having protection at all. It will not protect you from the newest issues.

Free Anti-Virus Protection
AVG Anti-Virus (free.avg.com)
Bit Defender Anti-Virus (www.bitdefender.com)
Avast Anti-Virus (www.avast.com)

Paid Virus Protection
Norton Anti-Virus (www.symantec.com)
Trend Micro Anti-Virus (us.trendmicro.com)
McAfee Anti-Virus (www.mcafee.com)

Computer viruses are called viruses because they share some of the traits of biological viruses. A computer virus passes from computer to computer like a biological virus passes from person to person.

Unlike a cell, a virus has no way to reproduce by itself. Instead, a biological virus must inject its DNA into a cell. The viral DNA then uses the cell’s existing machinery to reproduce itself. In some cases, the cell fills with new viral particles until it bursts, releasing the virus. In other cases, the new virus particles bud off the cell one at a time, and the cell remains alive.

A computer virus shares some of these traits. A computer virus must piggyback on top of some other program or document in order to launch. Once it is running, it can infect other programs or documents. Obviously, the analogy between computer and biological viruses stretches things a bit, but there are enough similarities that the name sticks.

People write computer viruses. A person has to write the code, test it to make sure it spreads properly and then release it. A person also designs the virus’s attack phase, whether it’s a silly message or the destruction of a hard disk. Why do they do it?

There are at least three reasons. The first is the same psychology that drives vandals and arsonists. Why would someone want to break a window on someone’s car, paint signs on buildings or burn down a beautiful forest? For some people, that seems to be a thrill. If that sort of person knows computer programming, then he or she may funnel energy into the creation of destructive viruses.

The second reason has to do with the thrill of watching things blow up. Some people have a fascination with things like explosions and car wrecks. When you were growing up, there might have been a kid in your neighborhood who learned how to make gunpowder. And that kid probably built bigger and bigger bombs until he either got bored or did some serious damage to himself. Creating a virus is a little like that — it creates a bomb inside a computer, and the more computers that get infected the more “fun” the explosion.

The third reason involves bragging rights, or the thrill of doing it. Sort of like Mount Everest — the mountain is there, so someone is compelled to climb it. If you are a certain type of programmer who sees a security hole that could be exploited, you might simply be compelled to exploit the hole yourself before someone else beats you to it.

Of course, most virus creators seem to miss the point that they cause real damage to real people with their creations. Destroying everything on a person’s hard disk is real damage. Forcing a large company to waste thousands of hours cleaning up after a virus is real damage. Even a silly message is real damage because someone has to waste time getting rid of it. For this reason, the legal system is getting much harsher in punishing the people who create viruses.

Source (How Stuff Works)

• Viruses - A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc.
• E-mail viruses - An e-mail virus travels as an attachment to e-mail messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim’s e-mail address book. Some e-mail viruses don’t even require a double-click — they launch when you view the infected message in the preview pane of your e-mail software.
• Trojan horses - A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it. Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically.
• Worms - A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well.

Source (How stuff Works)

Are you tired of SPAM filling your inbox? Create a new e-mail account just for online shopping and sweepstakes…. Use your current e-mail just for e-mailing people you know. Companies sell e-mail addresses and then you will start to get a lot more mail then you were hoping for. Also check to see if those e-mails that keep coming have a unsubscribe option and take advantage of that. You will see a difference after trying this.  There is a lot of free online e-mail account websites including the ones listed below.

http://www.hotmail.com
http://mail.yahoo.com
http://www.gmail.com

Browsing the internet can be an easy way to get malware infections in your computer. One easy way to fight off these threats is by using a web browser other than Internet Explorer as most threats are geared towards IE. A good alternative to IE is Firefox which can be downloaded at the Firefox website.