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Table of contents
What is a computer virus?
The term "computer virus" has a fairly specific technical meaning and refers to a very specific sort of self-replicating software. For people who are not technical and pedantic, we can define the term computer virus as it is commonly used as "Malicious software which sneaks onto your computer using security holes, and which can duplicate itself and spread to other computers." Currently viruses are only a problem for users running Windows operating systems. At this time, users of Apple Macintosh computers do not need to be worried about viruses, but this may change in the future. There do exist proof-of-concepts showing that viruses can be written for the Macintosh Operating system, but none are actively spreading "in the wild". How are computer viruses different from spyware?
Much like the word "virus", "spyware" has a technical definition, and a common language definition. In conversation "spyware" generally refers to malicious software which the user is tricked into installing, often so their computer can be hijacked and put to nefarious purposes. Spyware and viruses are often used together by malicious parties to damage or control computers. It is important to be protected against both sorts of threats. Most antivirus software provides some protection against spyware, but with all of the products we have tested this protection has been inadequate. Users should have software to protect themselves against viruses and spyware. See our other article about spyware.
How can my computer become infected with a virus?
There are many ways that your computer can become infected, including but not limited to:
If you do not have up-to-date virus protection (see below), any of these things can potentially lead to a virus infection. Usually it is not obvious right away that your computer has been infected, and it only becomes clear as time goes by and your computer performs more and more poorly or starts doing odd things. Why should I care if my computer has a virus?
When your computer is infected with malicious software like a virus, it is no longer truly your computer. You are at the mercy of the person who created the virus, or the person using it as an attack tool. Some viruses will lay low for a while and then delete your files without warning, or render your computer non-functional. Some will threaten to delete files unless you pay money. Most will spread to the computers of other people who you send email to or share discs/thumbdrives/data with, or other computers on the same network. Your computer will often slow down considerably as the virus uses up your computer's memory and processing power, and often downloads more malicious and unwanted software onto your computer. In short: when you have a virus on your computer you are more or less at the mercy of a maliciously minded person who in many cases can do whatever they want with your computer. No good can come of that. How can I protect myself?
Fortunately you can get "two for the price of one" because most of what you need to do to protect yourself against viruses is the same as what you need to do to protect yourself against spyware, so this section will repeat much of what is featured in our article about spyware. One option is to use a computer system which is not susceptible to spyware, such as an Apple Macintosh. However, this is not an option for some users for a variety of reasons. For people using Windows, spyware is a big problem, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Keep your computer up to date Windows security holes are being found (and fixed) all the time. Most security holes that viruses use to sneak onto your computer have already been patched. Virus writers often rely on you to have software that is out of date and vulnerable. This means that you can stop many problems before they happen by installing the latest updates/patches to Windows. You can use the built in Windows Update feature, or go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and follow the on screen instructions. Use a web browser other than Internet Explorer While security flaws are not unique to Internet Explorer, it tends to be the least secure Web browser. Unfortunately, some websites (most notably bank websites and internal company websites) are designed to function only with Internet Explorer. On the other hand, these sorts of websites are unlikely to give you spyware. The best option is to install a more secure web browser, such as Mozilla Firefox, to use when you browse the web, and to use Internet Explorer only when you absolutely have to.
Some recommended web browsers to use as an alternative to Internet Explorer:
Firefox is considered by many to be the best, fastest, more secure web browser currently available, as well as one of the easiest to set up and use. It also includes fairly good pop-up blocking and tabbed browsing. It is completely free. Firefox is the web browser recommended by Technical Reinforcements. The creators of Firefox (the Mozilla Foundation) also produce a free email program, called Mozilla Thunderbird, which can be used in place of Outlook or Outlook express.
Netscape has been around since shortly after the beginning of the web. It is not made as efficiently as Mozilla Firefox, so it may run a little bit slower, and the interface is a little bit more complicated, but some users prefer it. It also comes with an email program (which can be used to replace Outlook or Outlook Express) and is completely free.
Opera has also existed since the early days of the Web, though it is not as well known as some other web browsers. It also offers pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, an email program, and many other features. Its popularity has been somewhat limited by the fact that the free version used to display small advertisements to support the authors - but this is no longer true. Opera is free, and does not display any advertisements itself (though as with any browser, web sites can display their own ads) There is also a "Premium" version available for purchase, though the free version works just fine. Make sure your computer and web browser are up to date. While even a brand new version of Windows, Internet Explorer, or other software can contain security holes that let spyware onto your system, such vulnerabilities tend to be fixed after they are discovered, so an up-to-date version will contain far fewer security holes than an old version. You should set Windows to automatically update itself by going to your Control Panel and selecting 'Automatic Updates' (in Windows 2000 and early versions of Windows XP) or 'Security Center' (in later versions of Windows XP). If you are not sure if your computer is up to date, you can manually update your software by going to http://update.microsoft.com/ Have up-to-date active antivirus software You should always be running antivirus software on your computer, and make sure it's up to date. Remember that most antivirus subscriptions only last for a single year. Your antivirus is only as good as its latest update. When you purchase antivirus software, you are really purchasing a subscription to antivirus updates. These are sets of information that your antivirus software downloads automatically which contain information it can use to find, block and clean all of the latest viruses which researchers have found. Out of date antivirus software does you about as much good as getting last year's flu shot this year. There are a lot of choices for antivirus software. This article isn't going to get into reviewing each package, but we will list a few known legitimate and effective antivirus packages. Note that many of these packages claim to also protect you against spyware. They do, to a degree, but not as much as one would hope. We still recommend you read our article about spyware and get additional spyware protection. If all else fails... Of course, it is still possible to get a virus even if you do everything right. There is always some lag time between when a new virus is created and when security researchers (and your antivirus software) catch up. If you think your computer might have a virus, is slow, is giving you an excessive number of pop-ups, or just generally "acting funny," please give Technical Reinforcements a call, at (612)-720-0233. We will come to you and fix your problem. We will also be happy to help you if you simply want help understanding how to keep your machine clean and running smoothly.
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