ABOUT ANTI VIRUS

What ever free anti-virus program you have and use on your computer, [and if you don't have one then I hope that you are running Linux or a Macintosh]. Then ensuring that you actually scan your computer for virus infections on a regular basis is an absolute must.

Recently I have changed allegiance from AVG Anti-Virus to Avast Home edition. My reasons are that the detection rate, definition file updating and scanning functions of Avast are a better match for me and my Windows XP computer. You may prefer a different anti-virus program. What program you do use needs to be updated regularly. Virus files are released on a daily basis.

I must admit that recently I have been rather slack and have ignored the scheduled scan for my computer for over one month. I should have run the anti-virus scan when I wasn't using the computer, but I couldn't seem find a time when I'm not using the computer, except when I'm asleep. I don't leave the computer on when I'm asleep, I do try and save energy where I can.

When I do run an anti-virus scan whilst I'm using the computer, the computer is invariably slowed down as Avast scans each file on my computer [which is quite a few files, nearly 500GB of hard disk space]. So I kept putting it off the scan recently. That was not a wise decision.

I actually let Avast run a full scan, whilst making dinner, which is a perfect time to run a virus infection scan. So trusty Avast, uninterrupted from my impatience found 3 viruses. They may have been the behemoths of all viruses, they may have been viruses that might not have done much damage. I don't remember the name of the viruses, as they all got dealt with as viruses should, kicked into computer oblivion.

So, the valuable lesson I learned was, make sure you schedule your anti-virus program to scan at least once per month, and let it do its job. Now with Avast I have a few options that come in handy.

The first option is to run a boot scan. This means that Avast will scan my hard drives before the computer is booted up entirely and is able to scan my computer without interruptions from me and from any running processes. This is the scan I run the most now.

The other option I have is to schedule a scan for a time when I am not using the computer. Running a scan like this would be best run in safe mode. When your computer is in safe mode, very few processes are running that could interfere with the anti virus scan, and this helps the scan the computer faster and with better results.

So as straightforward as it sounds, actually running your up to date anti-virus software will reap results. Just plan your scan. Simple, but ultimately effective.

For more handy, free computer tips and advice please visit http://www.john-french.net

John French has been breaking, repairing and building computers for over 15 years. He has expertise in computer security and maintaining a healthy computer. Fighting computer infections and keeping a healthy and speedy computer is of priority importance.

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