Antivirus Software: Why You Need It

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If you don’t have a good antivirus software program on your computer, you will eventually experience frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive issues. That is a guarantee. Unfortunately, some computer owners overlook the importance antivirus software, and end up with computer problems that could have been avoided.

Hopefully this article will give you a better understanding of what a virus is, and why you definitely need to invest in a reliable protection strategy.

What is a Computer Virus?

Computer viruses are essentially programs that affect the health of your computer. They come in many shapes and sizes with a myriad of unwanted symptoms, and are usually difficult to locate and remove manually.

Skilled programmers create computer viruses, and not every programmer writes a virus for the same reason. Some are looking for an ego boost, while others are looking to illegally obtain personal information.

Just as viruses spread among humans, computer viruses can be transferred from one computer to another. It’s not always clear how a computer becomes infected, but illegal downloads (pirating) and fake emails are common.

Signs Your Computer May Have a Virus

A few signs your computer may be infected with a computer virus include:

• Slow
• Unable to boot up
• Unusual pop up windows
• Changed desktop background image
• Web pages don’t load
• Low disk space
• Web pages redirect
• Error messages

Types of Computer Virus

Not all computer viruses are created equal – some are more damaging, others more difficult to remove. Here are a three of the most common types of virus:

1. Worm

Worms spread by copying themselves to other devices connected to a specific network. They cause computers to slow down, and use an increasing amount of bandwidth and resources.

2. Trojan

The activities of a Trojan virus are undetectable by the computer user.

3. Malware

Malware (also known as ‘spyware’) isn’t technically a virus. Rather, it’s a type of software used to track a user’s activity and obtain personal information.

Antivirus Software

Antivirus software protects your computer from potentially dangerous software by notifying you of the threat, and then removing it. By updating daily, antivirus software keeps up with new or evolved viruses, which find new ways to infiltrate a computer system.

Malware removal is essential to do as soon as possible, and almost impossible to do properly without the correct antivirus software.

Without antivirus software, your computer is at risk. Viruses can destroy your computer, delete your important files, and share your private information with criminals. If there’s one thing you do to maintain the health of your machine and protection of your information, make it investing in antivirus software.