Have you ever downloaded a new app to find out later that you have a virus? Or has your computer been acting funny recently, and you’re not sure what’s causing it? This article will walk you through best practices to protect your computer from viruses that might be hidden and active. You’ll learn how to escape an attack, ways to reduce the risk of becoming infected, and more! So read on for more information.
What is a Virus?
Viruses are more correctly known as computer worms . . . and they don’t physically spread from person to person. Instead, they invade your computer through a network of connected computers. When a virus infiltrates your computer’s files and begins replicating, it spreads quickly across the Internet to other computers. Once it enters one machine, the only way to stop it is to replace (or delete) the file infected by that virus or use antivirus programs. You can protect yourself from becoming infected and keep your files safe with any of these reliable security tools. Thus, once you’ve become infected, the only solution is to get the virus file replaced or eliminated. There is no accurate way viruses spread from one machine to another. However, once one computer has been infected, the virus usually replicates itself until it finds another computer that is vulnerable and ready to be infected. This can happen quickly or can take days or weeks.
What are the Best Practices to Prevent Computer Viruses?
One of the best practices that you can undertake to prevent viruses is creating a primary partition and a backup partition. The reason for this is simple–if either the primary or the backup section fails, you’ll at least still have your essential documents intact.
- You’ll always want an up-to-date virus scanner to prevent viruses. It’s not a bad idea to use multiple scanners, but once again, it does help to create a backup partition for essential files in your original directory.
- You should also ensure you have good antivirus software installed on your computer. The best antivirus software is one that can also run as a real-time virus scanner; this is because many viruses are difficult or impossible to detect if they’re embedded in system files of the operating system (for example, hidden in Windows’ services) or other components (for example, the virus could be disguised as a legitimate file). If you already have a virus scanner installed, download and install updates for it regularly.
- To further protect yourself from viruses, installing anti-malware software would also be a good idea. Suppose a virus comes as an email attachment or another file that’s not downloaded directly onto your computer. In that case, your anti-malware program can automatically scan the file and potentially remove any malicious code before your antivirus scanner opens the attachment.
You should have at least one anti-malware application installed on your computer and be sure it is running.
Ways to relieve your computer from all hidden and active viruses
The computer has been acting funny: it does not start up properly, continuously slows down and freezes, and the browsing performance is terrible and lets you down quickly. Most likely, your computer has been infected by an active virus. Here you have eight ways to relieve your computer from all hidden and active viruses so you can use a malware-free computer system again.
1. Automatic Removal Tool
An automatic removal tool can make short work of most infections and protect against malware in real-time without annoying notifications popping up when starting or using your PC.
2. Wiping the Infected Partition
Be careful when you delete the infected partition since all of your files and data can be gone in a short time. For example, an attacker may have planted a virus on a file located on the infected partition.
3. Removing All Hidden Files
Hidden files are not located in the Program Files directory and cannot be listed using standard administrative tools like Windows Explorer. Malicious applications usually use them to hide certain activities and actions or provide additional functionality to malware (for example, making it harder for users to remove them).
After you remove these files, be sure to scan your system with a good antivirus application . . . and then update the software.
4. Repairing the Registry
The registry is an integral part of the Windows operating system. It contains information used to properly function and starts up your computer. When it becomes corrupted, various problems can occur. You may be unable to boot into Windows or start specific programs, among other issues. Save yourself some frustration and use a Registry Cleaner.
5. Using System Restore
System Restore is a built-in utility that allows you to “rewind” your PC’s settings to a point where your computer is working correctly, which can help troubleshoot any issues with your system and programs. You might want to consider running a system restore if you notice that your computer has been running slowly or not responding correctly.
6. Repairing the Master Boot Record
The Master Boot Record (MBR) is used to start up your PC and load Windows; if it becomes corrupted, the corruption may negatively affect these functions. By repairing the MBR, you can help ensure the standard parts of your system are working correctly.
7. Using a Bootable Antivirus CD or USB
Bootable antivirus CDs and USBs can ensure that your computer is clean from viruses, regardless of whether or not Windows detects any infections on your computer, by scanning for rootkits and other malware.
8. Refreshing Windows
Computers can often become infected with viruses or other malware, even if used carefully. If this is the case, you may want to consider refreshing your copy of Windows. Restoring your Windows copy will remove all traces of previous installations and reinstall Windows with updated drivers and software. This process is effective if you know your computer has been infected by malware but cannot be used if you wish to keep specific files or programs installed.
Conclusion For Relieving Viruses
Knowledge is power. As can be seen, all of these tools are helpful in different ways and will help you to maintain a safe and secure computer system. Combining some of these tools may bring about the best results. Always remember that prevention is better than cure. After you have removed all the malicious software and fixed your system, make sure to run a good antivirus scan regularly, especially if you download things from the Internet.
Hope this guide helps you keep your computer, software, and data safe from viruses! If you have any questions or comments, leave them in the comment section below.
Kent Beck link to his wiki
