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Viruses
Viruses are software programs that can be installed on your computer without your knowledge. Viruses can go by other commonly used names such as worms or trojans. "Worms" are viruses that replicate by infecting other computers. "Viruses" do not replicate. "Trojans" are viruses that are installed by you with the belief you are installing a legitimate program. Most modern viruses replicate using the internet.
Your computer can "catch" a virus in many different ways. The most common method is email. VCI's VirusWatch service tries to protect our customers by blocking all virus infected emails.
Another common method your computer can catch a virus is by just be connecting to the internet. Many viruses are written shortly after a "bug" in Windows is found. Virus writers will use that bug to develop a virus to infect your computer. These bugs are commonly found in computers with a Microsoft Windows operating system. You can easily protect yourself from these viruses by making sure you have the latest updates from Microsoft.
A virus in your computer can cause a multitude of problems. When you become infected you will probably not know your computer just became infected and it may may take you quite a while before you discover the virus.
To protect yourself from becoming infected with a virus the best method is to have antivirus software from a reputable vendor installed. Most companies recommend vendors such as Trend Micro, McAfee or Symantec
When your computer becomes infected you will notice problems similar to these listed below.
- degraded computer performance (computer becomes unusually slow)
- unusual computer problems
- provide no uninstall feature, and put its code in unexpected and hidden places to make it difficult to remove.
To detect and remove viruses from your computer VCI's support technicians highly recommend the following online virus scanners. Both of these online scanners are free but they do not provide the same level of security as the version installed on your computer.
- Avast
- AVG
- Panda Software's Active Scan
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