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WHAT IS ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE AND WHY DO I NEED IT?
Dean Erickson
Anti virus software is important for your computer's (and your) wellbeing and the Internet can help out with some free utilities.
How long have you been on the Internet? And you don't have any Antivirus software? That's certainly a big risk. Antivirus software utilities are expensive? Yes, it is true. Many of these programs are expensive, but they are absolutely essential.
Once installed on your system, and if kept properly updated of all virus definitions, an antivirus software utility will scan all files and separate the suspicious from the safe. It will alert you if a file is infected and either delete it or quarantine it so it cannot cause havoc with your machine. That way you system is constantly protected from the destructive behaviour of viruses. You will not be at risk of infection and, since a virus replicates itself, you will not risk infecting your friends.
Still, if your budget is too limited to include some of the heavyweight antivirus solutions such as Symantec's Norton, McAfee or Kaspersky, there are some free options available if you know where to look.
You basically have two options when it comes to free antivirus protection. You can use a free antivirus software package or you can do an online virus scan. Choosing an online virus scan is basically a good introduction to a product. Trendmicro.com scans your hard drive for free using its House Call antivirus software program. You allow the program access to your hard drive. It scans, locates and clean your infected files, if any, but won't collect personal information or log you IP address.
Do a quick web search for Free Online Virus Scan to bring up some other websites that offer the same service.
You ultimately need to install good antivirus software right on your computer. The most important thing that such software does is real time scanning. This means that whenever you download email or enter a website it is scanning the files and programs you may be downloading and checking to see that they are virus free. If a virus is detected the software will warn you right away, before you open the file and infect your computer.
There are options. If you type Free Anti Virus Software Downloads or Free Antivirus Utilities you'll bring up various results. Products like ClamAV, AntiVir Personal Edition, AVG Anti-Virus software, avast!, BitDefender are all free. As with any antivirus software utility you need to keep it updated regularly of all virus definitions so that it can do its job properly. The utility needs to be informed of the all active viruses so that it knows how to protect your system.
A virus seeks out users with a slack awareness of their computer's security needs. Be informed. Do a virus scan today.
About the Author
Journalist, and web site builder Dean Erickson lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of free-spyware-removal-finder.info on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.
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