Why you need virus and adware protection
Computer viruses and adware are a common part of life on the Internet. A computer virus is a program that spreads by placing itself in files or other areas of the computer and then making copies of itself. Some viruses don’t cause much of a problem, while others may damage files and some may even destroy files. In the past computer viruses were spread by sharing discs and other sorts of portable media. Today the most common way for viruses to spread is through email messages. However, in some cases plugging a USB storage stick into a computer and using it can transfer viruses.
Viruses are dangerous because they can basically do anything that a program can do on your computer. Some viruses set out to damage files while some viruses may be aimed at spreading to other computers rather than damaging the computer they are on.
Risky Emails
Email messages mostly spread viruses by having an attachment, such as a text document or an image, or by including a clickable link in the email message. Depending on how your email client operates, even opening a message may be enough to load a virus onto your computer. Often viruses are spread by email messages made to look interesting and inviting but coming from an unknown source. You shouldn’t open anything in such an email message unless you trust the sender of the message. Sometimes an email message can be made to look like it comes from someone you know but is actually from another source. For this reason, even if you know the sender you should be wary about opening an unexpected attachment.
Removing Problems with Antivirus Software
Adware removal and virus removal with antivirus software goes in two steps. Firstly, the malware is identified by known signatures or by incorrect behaviours found by monitoring. Secondly, this malware is either quarantined or automatically removed. Quarantining allows restoring the files in cases where the identification is either in error due to similarities in program signatures or where a low risk of problems is acceptable. Automatic removal is often the step used for dangerous malware.
Antivirus software not only has the ability to remove adware and viruses but also has a process for updating its information so that it becomes aware of newly released viruses and malware. This update function is very important because the criminals producing viruses work to bypass antivirus software by changing the virus code. Updating antivirus software means that new or changed virus code can be detected and stopped.
