We can provide advice on protecting yourself from virus infections n teh internet and also assist in recovering from any outbreaks.
There are many factors required to choose the best kind of anti virus software, driven by effectiveness, impact on your existing machine and lastly, cost. Given the ever changing landscape of malicious code and virus attacks on personal and business users alike, a few pointers to selection criteria for anti virus products are listed below, which will hopefully help reduce the risks associated with poorly configured anitvirus products and high risk online activities such as downloading illegal music and watching streaming media from questionable sources. The points to consider are as follows:
Check the rating of the product with an organisation such as Virus Bulletin (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/index) prior to purchase
Don”t buy a multi year “value” license – the rankings of some products change as time goes by
Make sure that the software uninstalls cleanly in the event that you need to change products
Make sure that the antivirus scanning has the capability to run an off-line scan. By off line scan we mean where a system can be booted up using a dedicated anti-virus disk and scanned without the operating system being able to be compromised by a root kit or similar form of virus / malicious code vector
Make sure that the product has a long support life – some free products are continually being updated and require installation of the current years version
Make sure the product has a mechanism to have its virus definitions updated manually and automatically. there are instances that you may suspect a virus infection, but you are hindered by the fact that ouy cant connect to the internet to carry out automatic upgrades.
If you follow these basic guidelines when you think about upgrading your existing anti virus product, then you will be well on the way to selecting the right product.
In the event that you discover you have made an error of judgement, don”t be afraid to replace the product.
A virus / malware infection will always cost you more in time and money than the tens of pounds spent on changing a defective product.
Some pointers and hints to stop you succumbing to viruses, worms and other malware;
Install an antivirus product – some of the free ones work well, but they do fail as well. Check out independant reviews and be prepared to re-review what you use on a regular basis.
Keep your antivirus definitions up to date.
Make sure you don”t invalidate products such as Microsoft windows, office etc. by installing illegal software. Security updates are essential and are often prevented by the failure of Microsoft validation during updates etc.
Dont use bittorrent etc. to download illegal software, music, images etc. – they are frequently infected with the latest and greatest viruses and malware.
Try not to run your accounts with administrative privileges, it may be a pain to type in an admin userid and password when installing software / hardware etc., but it does reduce the risk of major system compromise.
Take regular backups, and make sure that you have valid system restore points if possible.
Set your antivirus program to scan all removable media on insertion.
Set your antivirus to make sure that emails are scanned as you receive them – not a few seconds after you”ve opened them. Most of all – be vigilant and use common sense.