Issue #1: Virus Protection
Importance: CRITICAL
Narrative:
You MUST do these three virus-related activities if you expect to run your PC in a way that stacks things in your favor.
- Be sure that you have good quality antivirus software on your PC. Norton and McAfee are obvious choices, as they have a HUGE installed base. Both, however, make ever-increasing demands on your PC, and many users report severely degraded performance after installing these. We have had great results with AVG AntiVirus, which does what it does (antivirus and e-mail protection) very well. The bonus is that it is FREE for individual users, updates are free, and it doesn't expire. You can check it out, and download it, at Grisoft, the vendor. Another similarly well-regarded (and free) option is Avast AntiVirus, available here.
- It is critical that you keep the Virus Definition File of your antivirus software up to date. We see many PCs that have virus definitions that are well over a year old. This means that the user is protected just fine for OLD viruses, but, any virus that was written in, say, the last year, is welcomed onto his system with open arms. Use the Live Update function of your antivirus software to be sure the virus definitions are current.
- RUN THE STINKIN' SOFTWARE! You must RUN the software to be protected! You should have the software in "Auto Protect" mode, and periodically run a manual full-system scan to be sure you're okay.
Next: Spyware
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