First off, is it really necessary to have anti-virus and firewall software installed on your computer? Afterall, with only 200 new threats created daily, who really cares? Is it really that big of a deal if hackers are able to access your computer, look through your data, user names, passwords, and account information? Seriously, is identitiy theft really that important to you? Or what about the viruses that cause your computer to go so slow you think you will never be able to load your Internet browser. Why should you worry about malware that can cause your system files to be destroyed or your favorite family photos stored on your computer to disappear in an instant? Does it concern you that your email can be sent to thousands of spam sites and pop-ups are all over your screen offering you software to fix your computer?

Any idea what causes these types of issues? How about malware, which broken down is short for malicious software such as viruses, trojans, worms, rootkits, spyware, adware, I think you get the point. Oh wait, I forgot, you have a customized super sized computer that is not vulnerable to viruses. When I hear people tell me this, I tend to wait and act surprised when they come back saying, “oh no, I got a virus”.

It does not matter how sophisticated your computer is, you are vulnerable to malware! If you don’t have internet security software installed on your pc, you are at risk of being infected with viruses, spyware and even hackers that want nothing more than to steal your information.

So what should you do now that you already have viruses on your computer? Well you could download the latest internet security software and hope it will detect, delete or repair the infected files. Many times you will have to do a re-format of your harddrive which will cause you to lose everything on your computer so be sure to save what you want first. If you do a re-format, it has to be done properly, or it will not delete the viruses. I would recommend you to contact your local computer shop.

Although Internet security and anti-virus software will protect you against these threats, no software is guaranteed to block 100% of all malware. Many of these threats are found on websites that you visit and files that you download such as video’s, music and pictures. If you use peer to peer file sharing, I am sure you already know all about viruses and spyware. Want a hint? Stop downloading from those sites and you will stop getting viruses.

Okay, here are a couple internet security software programs I recommend that offer the best protection, features and support. First is Security Shield 2008, this is a rebrand of F-Secure and is absolutely amazing and easy to use. Another is Kaspersky Internet Security, another well designed software program with hourly updates.

While computer viruses behave pretty much like biological ones, they need special treatment that admits no analogy in biological terms. As insidious as their biological correspondents, they infect every living cell and spread around in record time. Thus, if you really need a functional pc, you should procure some electronic pills to get your work safe.

In this case you cannot become a faithful guardian to your machine until you have installed an antivirus program skilled enough to detect viruses, worms and Trojan horses – all “trustful” members of a happy family! It is important to keep clear about the differences between these sorts of malware, in order to protect your computer from them all. Viruses, as we used to know them when first dealing with a computer are no more that widely spread since the Internet became popular. Once again: you need an antivirus that helps against viruses, worms and Trojan horses (not only viruses)!

See the slight differences in methods and effects: Viruses intend to destroy your data. They act in sly movements and this is how the predominant negative effect of viruses is their uncontrolled self-reproduction, which wastes or overwhelms computer resources, until your cyber work space doesn’t leave you room for your actions.

But since we’ve got Internet connection we have to deal with the most popular visitors from “out there”! Introduce yourself to malicious worms: worm uses a network to send copies of itself to other systems and it does so without any intervention, thus, you stay helpless face to face with it. In general, worms harm the network and consume bandwidth, whereas viruses infect or corrupt files on a targeted computer. Viruses generally do not affect network performance, as their malicious activities are mostly confined within the target computer itself.

And here is the moment when the masquerade starts: Trojan horse is a malicious program that is disguised as legitimate software. Trojans use false and fake names to trick users into dismissing the processes. In most cases the program performs other, undesired functions, but not always. The useful, or seemingly useful, functions serve as camouflage for these undesired functions.

While some of them are particularly benign or simply annoying, others are extremely harmful and deadly dangerous. In analogy, just compare a regular cold with pneumonia… no need to mourn for you computer! What it really needs is an anti-virus protection. Remember, they are active in this certain moment, when you’re peacefully typing. Hurry up to get protected and try out PC Tools AntiVirus 2.0 as a fair suggestion.

The software can also help you clean your computer if you should happen to have a virus. The important thing to remember about anti-virus software is that you make sure to update it often so that you get the latest computer virus definitions installed into the software program. There is no point in having the anti-virus software if you’re not going to update it. You’ll be able to get updates from the vendor that sold you the anti-virus software, such as Norton.

Many times you may already have anti-virus software on your computer in which case you be sure to uninstall it before installing your new software. To find out if you have virus software check under your Start menu to see if you one listed, such as McAfee or Norton. Keep in mind that just because you have anti-virus software already installed on your computer that it (1) might not be working, and (2) hasn’t been updated for a long time.

Once you’ve installed anti-virus software on your computer you’re going to want to make sure that you use it correctly. Make sure that the settings in your computer automatically turn the anti-virus software on when you boot up your computer. You always want to be protected. If you’re downloading something off the Internet your anti-virus software will let you know if there is a problem.

You can also use the anti-virus software to specifically scan any downloads, or files, that that have been sent to you via e-mail. If you are alerted that you have a virus your software will guide you with the right steps to removing it. Make sure that you don’t continue to use your computer until the virus, or worm that you have, is removed. You don’t want to send e-mail to friends and help in the spreading of the virus.