I Think My Computer has a Cold

Nobody likes being sick, but it happens to the best of us. When it happens to your computer, however, it can be annoying, time-consuming and potentially destructive. So it would be better if our computers never got sick, which means that a little effort needs to be put in to maintain full system health. This involves scanning for viruses, not opening suspicious files or email attachments and being careful about the programs that get installed.

Don't Click That!

The good thing about viruses, if there can be an upside, is that viruses most be run to infect your computer (note: are a completely different story). Unfortunately, people run (sometimes inadvertently) virus-laden stuff all the time. A lot of times, viruses come in the form of seemingly harmless email attachments or downloads. One way to be safe from this kind of entrypoint is to ask yourself the following questions:

Another quick fix; when in doubt, scan it first. And that leads us to our next section...

Virus Scanning

Virus scanners exist to check for viruses using the latest information available about what nasty things are circulating out there. The key component of any virus scanner is having the most up to date virus definitions, without them there's a risk of missing out on the latest evil. To the irritation of many, many virus providers now charge subscription fees in order for their customers to receive the most current automatic updates.

Whichever virus scanning software you choose, it's important to stay current with the latest virus definitions and updates. Perhaps even more important, is to use those virus definitions. Let your virus scanner do it's thing. Setup a regular scans (at least once a week) of your computer, to root out any lurking virii. It's also a good idea to scan files as they're opened or downloaded if your virus scanner allows this feature.

Virus Scanners (free for home use)

Windows

AVG
a-vast

Linux

clamav