How Do You Get a Virus on a Computer

How do you get a virus on a computer? It's a good question and the answer to it will go a long way to helping you to protect your system, personal details and family and friends. Most viruses can be avoided by knowing what signs to look for when it comes to everyday tasks like checking email and downloading documents, so I am going to answer this question and hopefully help you prevent anything catastrophic from ever entering your computer.

-One of the main entry points for viruses is through your email inbox. Most people use email every day now and it has become our first point of contact with big companies we want to get in touch with and when we want to share pictures and files with family and friends. That is however where the problem lies. The email itself is not malicious but it is when you download an attachment that the trouble starts to begin. Most mail readers will automatically download this content which just essentially opens the front door to your computer and leaves all your data vulnerable. Best practise in this situation is to disable the automatic download so you can check the email first to see if it could be corrupt. Never open anything you were not expecting or anything from friends that is out of character.

-Not updating your security program should not need be an obvious example but it is still a major factor in letting in viruses. If you don't update your system then you are leaving it exposed to the new viruses that are being created all the time. The same goes for internet plugins. If you are not updating them then you are losing one of your main defences against a virus.

- Downloading pirated software or music/film from a dodgy site is another way to get a virus. When you download a file from a site that looks dodgy there is a good chance you are watching a virus go straight onto your computer. Look for reviews first to see whether the site is reputable. If it has a chequered past then stay well away and buy the item from a certified retailer.

-It may seem obvious as one of the first things you get when you buy a new system but many people still don't have any form of spyware protection or antivirus. This doesn't leave the door to your computer open but it means that once a virus comes in via an infected email or a dodgy file you will have no way to detect it or get rid of it.

Following simple steps like not opening emails you weren't expecting, updating your security programs regularly, only buy music and films from proper retailers and making sure that you have antivirus and spyware protection will go a long way to stopping any viruses from getting on to your computer and ruining your life. Knowing the answer, to a question like how do you get a virus on a computer, is half the battle in knowing how to protect yourself and others that could get infected via you system.

The Google / Search redirect virus is one of the most common viruses of 2010, 2011 & 2012, infecting millions of computers around the World. Designed by expert hackers, it is highly annoying and will continually redirect your web searches to fake or dangerous websites. This virus cannot be removed with regular software but there are specialist ones out there. Click to find out more

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Cyber Attacks and Your Money

During the last month, there were cyber attacks to our banks from foreign countries. These attacks denied many people access to their banking by overloading the system. I check my online banking daily, so I was one of many who could not get access my bank's website to view my account, or make any transactions.

These attacks have caused many people to become concerned about their money. I don't know if these concerns are real or not. Most large companies have very sophisticated computers with extensive backup systems.

However I do see some experts predicting that there might be some problems in the future, either from viruses or other computer problems beyond my understand.

So is our money safe in our banks? And if not, what should we do?

I trust that our financial institutions are doing everything possible to protect our computers and financial records. I believe we have some of the most intelligent and well-trained people in the world protecting our computers and guarding against potential problems.

Having said that, I do believe that there are certain things everyone should do to protect their money and any situation that may arise to come between us and our money.

Here are the basics.

1. Keep an adequate supply of food and the other necessities of life in your home to ride out a short-term crisis.

2. Keep a little extra cash in your home, in small and large bills. If you can't access the money in your bank, you want to have cash available to buy items where business is still being conducted.

You need a mix of both large and small bills. You do not to have to give someone a $10 bill for a bottle of water when they don't have any change.

3. Keep a paper copy of your money in banks or other saving vehicles. Make sure that it is current. If you have an online bank, be sure to print your bank statement monthly and keep it in a safe place in your home.

Finally, be sure and protect your personal computer. Have a good virus program installed on your computer, and back up your information to a travel disk (USB flash drive) and also use an online backup service to store your information.

No one can predict what may or may not happen. However we can do our part to protect our personal information.

Remember, if you get hungry, you cannot count on the government delivering a fresh loaf of bread to your doorstep. If everyone prepares and works together, we will all do better in handling any cyber attacks and potential emergencies together.

About the Author: Nikki Willhite, mother of 3 and an interior design graduate, has been writing and publishing articles on the topic of frugal living for over a decade. Visit her at http://www.frugalhappyfamilies.com/ - where you will find hundreds of frugal living tips and articles. Frugal Happy Families- more than just money!

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How Do You Delete a Virus?

This is a question that is asked all the time and it is a serious one because if a virus remains on your system then it has the potential to destroy your life. So here are some methods for getting rid of it:

- The most obvious way to remove a virus from your computer is to get some antivirus software. You can buy ones or you can get a free version. For it to be effective you must keep it updated so it can detect and get rid of the latest Virus. Once you install the software it will use its information bank of virus definitions to detect and remove an intruder from your system. Different products have different information banks which mean that some will remove certain viruses but not others.

- If you are the DIY kind of person then with some basic knowledge you can remove it yourself but there are risks to doing long-term damage to your system.

-You will need to check your LOCAL_HKEY_USER folder to see if any if the registry files have been infected.

-If you find of your registry files with weird names or with inflated sizes then remove them.

-You will then need to remove all the exe files that are with the virus. These can be found in the program files folder in your C: drive.

-I can't stress enough how careful you have to be when removing viruses manually and insist you purchase a program or get a professional to do it.

-Make sure you check that any virus software you buy is not a scam. There are many programs out there that pass itself off as antivirus software when what it really is a program that ushers viruses into your system and once they are in there they literally destroy your computer. They make it virtually unusable meaning you have to scrap the old device and get a new one. This also means that you lose any important files and are putting your banking details at risk.

Best thing to do is to do a search for the program and you should get a good idea of whether it is a scam or not pretty quickly.

How do you delete a virus is a question that is asked a lot and the best answer is just to do your best not to get a virus in the first place. Install antivirus programs and Check to see if the program you're using is a scam. This will give a virus little chance of getting on to your system meaning you shouldn't have to need to try and delete it.

The Google / Search redirect virus is one of the most common viruses of 2010, 2011 & 2012, infecting millions of computers around the World. Designed by expert hackers, it is highly annoying and will continually redirect your web searches to fake or dangerous websites. The main reason why this virus is is one of the most damaging is that it cannot be removed with traditional antivirus programs. Instead, you need to use special methods or tools to get rid of it, which have remained a mystery until now. Find out more

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Detecting And Removing Spyware From Your System

Malicious software is a very big issue for all internet users today. Millions of people have had to purchase a new computer thanks to a adware attack, with the damages from all these viruses estimated to be in the billions.

Before you can prevent this from happening to your system, you must first have some understanding of how to detect and remove these viruses. The sole purpose of spyware is for collating confidential and private information from a computer, which can later be used or sold to others. If you have little understanding of how to remove them, then your computer is potentially at risk.

Up to 70% of internet users today keep their entire private and confidential information on their system, so you can only imagine what would happen if computer hackers were to get a hold of it. There are six steps that you must take in order to suitably protect your system.

1. The first thing that you need is anti-spyware software, one that supports real time protection, and firewall software. Anti-spyware applications are designed to fight this specific threat, in addition to that, they're also capable of detecting malware, Trojans and key loggers.

The software that I recommend you use would have to be AVG internet security, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Spybot Search and Destroy. For software that supports real time protection, you may want to consider Zonealarm Security Suite.

For the firewall, I use Zonealarm, which is free and is currently rated amongst the best.

2. After you have downloaded all these applications to your computer, you will first have to update all of them. The reason why you have to do this is so the software can detect all of the latest threats.

3. After that, run all the software, one after the other, scanning your system for any infections. If you didn't have any protection software on your computer before, then it's likely you'll have tons of infections present on it.

4. After you have removed all the threats found on your system, you'll then have to initiate the firewall software, this way; hackers will no longer be able to gain access to your system.

5. After you've done that, go into safe mode and run Malwarebytes Anti-Malware again. This will allow you to remove all the viruses that these applications were unable to detect and/or remove due to share file violation issues.

6. You may also want to install McAfee SiteAdvisor so that you can better avoid visiting phishing and malicious websites. This way you can ensure that your system is optimally secure.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye has been writing articles online for many years now. For information on electronic gadgets and computers, including any questions that you may want answered, advice on specific products and recommendations, check out his latest websites kindle paperwhite and how to speed up your computer

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An Overview Of The Google Redirect Virus

Most people will have had computer viruses on their computer, probably without even realising it. This is because many of the average computer viruses out there are easily detected by anti-virus software programs and thus removed. There is one virus in particular, that is much harder to detect and even harder to remove. The virus I am referring to is the Google Redirect Virus. We will now look at what the Google Redirect Virus actually is, why it is so hard to detect and remove and the damage it can cause.

Whereas other viruses run from an application or file hidden on your computer, the Google Redirect Virus is different. It is a type of virus known as a BHO (Browser Hijack Object) or Trojan Horse virus. This virus is caught by your computer through downloading anything from MP3's, screensavers, videos and music files from illegitimate and unofficial websites. Once it is on your computer, it alters your internet browser files and settings and then removes itself from the hard drive, leaving no trace of its existence.

The way it affects your computer is hinted at in the name. Basically, anytime you search through Google on the web, or any other search engine you will be redirected to a completely unrelated and often dangerous website. Sometimes instead of being redirected to an unconnected website, your search will lead you to a constant stream of ads and pop-up windows. This can be frustrating and annoying if it happens every time and can cause your computer to run slowly.

Although you cannot use normal anti-virus software to detect and stop this virus, there are some indicators that would suggest your computer is infected.

These include -

As mentioned above, your internet searches lead you to unrelated websites, ads and pop-up windows.

A changed desktop background, so if yours has changed, and you aren't sure why it may be this virus.

Trying to click through to a website that sells or gives anti-virus information or downloads is blocked.

Your homepage is changed, and not by you, when you try to change it back you can't.

Alterations have been made to your Windows HOSTS file.

Your internet browsers run slower when loading sites and pages than they normally are.

The majority of symptoms, caused by this virus are a nuisance more than anything else; there are a few more serious side effects. Along with the bogus and useless websites, it may redirect you to; it could also redirect you to potentially dangerous websites. Further to this, the virus can often disable your firewalls and other security programs that help protect your computer and the information you keep on it. This in turn may lead to more and more viruses infecting your computer and causing you yet more problems.

So if you feel your computer may be suffering the effects of the Google Redirect Virus, do not despair as there are some ways to get rid of it. As the virus is actually made up of different individual layers, these need to be tackled separately. This is not an easy thing to do but is not impossible.

There are two ways that this virus can be dealt with; they are manual removal; this method would be for the experienced user, and online removal tools, which are for those of us that, apart from not wishing to lose our data, like the easy way of doing things.

The author Luke Clayhill, after twice being infected with this type of virus now provides methods of Removing Redirect Virus easily.

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