Can I Avoid Viruses Without an Antivirus Software Program?

By Mike Ncube:

The answer to this question will depend on what you use your PC for.
Nowadays, most people use computers to surf the web, use email communication and a host of other essential activities like banking, shopping and paying utility bills.
For those who aren't connected to the internet, the PC is still used for other important tasks like business activities and school/college work. And these activities involve using external media like USB flash drives, hard drives and CD/DVD drives.

If you use your PC for either of these activities, then you'll need an antivirus software program to protect yourself from viruses and other malware (malicious software) threats.
However, we must stress that it is possible to avoid virus infection for a while, if you surf the web without any antivirus protection. But you do need to know what you are doing.
Some of the steps you can take are:
1. Don't download any free spyware removal and freeware programs that you find online. The truth is they aren't free and at the end of the scan, will request a payment to remove a Trojan threat. In reality, these programs are malware programs and are distributed and maintained by cyber criminals.
2. Don't visit dangerous websites including sites that host porn, warez and cracking sites. These sites are one of the primary ways malware threats are spread and it would be a miracle to avoid infection when you visit them without an antivirus program.
3. Don't open emails from unknown sources and that also means not opening attachments that are unknown, no matter how tempting they are. Not only will your PC be infected with a virus threat if you open it, you will also be in danger of phishing attacks. Phishing scams are one of the most prevalent of internet scams and the criminals behind them attempt to trick you into providing sensitive information like your credit cards, bank details, passwords and usernames.
However, as you may be aware, virus threats are not just spread through the web. Removable media such as USB drives carry virus threats too and easily spread when they're used on various computers.
So you may take extra precaution as you surf the web, but if you use an infected flash drive on your PC, then it will be infected without fail.
Why you need antivirus software
We've been referring to antivirus software all along, but the most ideal protection for your PC would be an internet security package.
This is the complete package and includes antivirus, antispyware and anti-spam protection. And it also includes firewall software which will block all forms of malware threats and hackers.
Going without security protection could be costly too. Not only could you lose your files and other personal data, but the cost of repairing your PC after data loss and corruption could be high.
Conclusion
Safe surfing is a myth! Sooner or later your PC will be infected with a virus, or worse still be hacked.
Nowadays a computer without an antivirus program is not just vulnerable, it's probably already infected.
So don't fall victim to these threats; get a security program that will protect all avenues on your PC.

Visit Best Buy Antivirus to read antivirus reviews and download antivirus software

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Ncube

Optimize Windows 7 With Antivirus Software

By Hugh Kent:

One sure-fire way to optimize Windows 7 would be to have antivirus software program running on your computer at all times. This may seem like a trivial piece of advice. But you would be surprised at how many computer systems out there succumb to computer viruses every day. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that a significant number of computers out there end up contracting viruses, even though they already have antivirus software installed!

Indeed, even if you have antivirus software installed on your machine, that is not reason enough for you to allow yourself to become complacent and unmindful of the potential threat of virus attacks. If you want to optimize Windows 7 against the threat of viruses, then there are some added measures that you will need to proactively take:
For example, if your antivirus software program isn't configured to start up automatically whenever you power up or reboot your computer, then it obviously won't do you any good. An antivirus program needs to be running in order for it to work. You can't just install it on your system and expect it to do its magic for you and optimize Windows 7 against viruses automatically.
Secondly, even if you have antivirus software running on your machine, it won't do you any good unless it is configured to attack and quarantine threats in real-time. If your computer is configured to run an antivirus scan once a day, at 3am for example, or once a week on Sunday nights at 2am, for example, then that leaves your computer vulnerable to the threat of viruses for the entire duration of each day or each week until the scheduled scan runs. If you want to optimize Windows 7 against viruses, you are going to need a scan to run in real-time.
Thirdly, many antivirus software programs offer multiple levels of thoroughness in terms of the level of their scans. A "quick scan" no doubt is not as thorough and comprehensive as a "detailed scan". Detailed scans typically take much longer than quick scans, and can consume more system resources in the process, which is why the "quick scan" option exists in the first place. Make sure that your computer is scheduled to perform a detailed scan at least once per day.
Fourthly, many antivirus programs out there come with a real-time scanning option. In other words, the antivirus software will run constantly in the background on your computer, checking your system at regular intervals for any real-time virus threats. This way, the virus can be detected immediately upon infiltration into your system, and quarantined.
Fifthly, if you don't know what it means to "quarantine" a computer virus, it is important to understand that many antivirus software programs offer multiple ways of dealing with any virus threats that are found: They can either ignore the virus and just generate a report on them. They can delete the offending files immediately. Or they can merely quarantine the offending files, which means that they won't be deleted. They will just be "cordoned off" on the computer, so that they cannot be accessed and also so that the virus cannot spread to the rest of the system.
And finally, it is important to make sure that your antivirus software's virus definitions are up to date. Viruses are constantly evolving. Therefore, it is important to make sure that your antivirus program is constantly updated with the latest information about virus threats so that they can be fought against effectively. This can also occur if your antivirus software's license has expired.
Running antivirus software is an essential aspect of your strategy to optimize Windows 7.

Learn more about ways you can optimize Windows 7 against viruses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hugh_Kent