Keeping Your PC Virus Free

You do not necessarily need an anti-virus program to secure your computer. What's most important is the browsing habits. If you are not aware of the dangers, the best anti-virus program in the world would not secure your computer. Here are some tips that could help you secure your PC.

1. Choose what you read
A lot of virus and worms spread through e-mail attachments and instant messengers. These malicious programs can come in different forms from word documents to pictures. The rule to avoid infecting yourself if to look at the sender. If it is from someone unknown, ignore it. From someone you know? Read the subject, if it looks suspicious or you are not expecting it, ask the sender or read with caution. The anti-virus program provided by the mail hosting should not be the determining factor for the safety of the attachment. Trust your judgment, and think before opening any attachments.

2. Do not install unnecessary software
Many softwares/toolbars/plug-ins from the Internet may not be as safe as you think. They may not contain viruses, but spywares or adwares. Unless they are really necessary, think twice before you install any software, and read the terms and conditions first. Read some reviews and comments on professional websites before installing.

3. Avoid porn/hacking/cracking sites
From my experience, the above websites are the most popular for attempting to infect your computer. They may have a lot of links, pop-ups that would come up, and sometimes forcing certain plug-in installation before allowing access. Please, DO NOT install these plug-ins, or in fact any plug-ins in any website unless you know what it is.

4. Avoid usage of P2P software
P2P softwares, such as Kazaa, Limewire are great for file-sharing and downloading those hard to get files. However they come with a great risk, as many of these files may in fact contain malicious programs that could infect your computer. From my experience, a significant portion, maybe 10%-15% of the files inside are infected. If you download from them, you too risk infection. I too have stopped using it just for this reason.

5. Scan first
I once have two of my computers infected just because I wanted to save some time copying files from a friend. His USB thumb drive is infected, I did not scan it before I plugged it in, I regretted. This resulted in the format of both the infected laptops. Therefore, next time before opening a file you just downloaded, or plugging in a friend's USB drive, scan first.

There are no definite ways to keep your computer virus free. What is most important is to be smart when surfing the Internet, and be aware of the dangers. There are plenty of ways a virus can infect your computer, even without connecting to the Internet. Of course, get a good anti-virus program. For financial restricted users, I recommend AVG Free, which you can get here.