You know they exist but think it won’t happen to you. Don’t become one of the millions of people who also thought similarly. Protect yourself in the virtual world from the big three: Adware, viruses and trojans.
Trojans
Over 100,000 new Trojans are created each day. A Trojan is an ad or piece of software that looks innocent but isn’t. The most common type is a warning that pops up that your computer was scanned and found to have a virus. In order to get rid of the virus, the warning tells you to download this program. If you download the supposedly helpful program, your system will be invaded.
If you know what to look for, you can avoid this type of malware. Protect yourself by knowing what types of Trojans are out there so if you see one, you can avoid it. Always keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software updated. Never download anything that is not from a trusted and verified source.
Viruses
Viruses are the most common type of malware. Protect yourself by never opening email attachments unless you know who it is from. Do not respond to or forward chain emails. If you ever do download something from the Internet, make sure it is from a trusted source. Since sites can look very legitimate when they aren’t, don’t trust your own judgment. Use an anti-virus/anti-spyware program that verifies the security of each website you enter.
Adware
Adware is not really a virus as much as an annoyance. When ads are allowed to pop up all over the place, it slows your computer down. These are common if you elect to download any free versions of popular services. In order to be free, the developer places ads on their program to earn money through click throughs.
There have been billions of pounds lost through stolen credit card numbers, passwords and identity theft. The cost of malware to our economy is huge with loss of productivity and spending resources on fighting these buggers.
Protect yourself through education and installing high quality anti-virus and anti-spyware systems. Back up all your files with a flash drive or other external memory device. Never share passwords and be wary of any emails from addresses you don’t know. In the case of malware, offense is truly the best defense.
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