Great things in the Internet

How to protect your computer against viruses?
It is great to have access to so many great things in the Internet. Important information, useful services and wonderful entertainment. Unfortunately by accessing the Internet you take the risk of opening a door to some uninvited guests who are looking for an opportunity to harm you and your computer. Yes, we’re talking about computer viruses, spyware and adware.
What are computer viruses, spyware and adware?
Computer viruses are software programs designed to access your computer without your consent, interfere with computer’s operation, and record, corrupt, or delete your personal data.
Adware are software programs designed for advertising and changing your computer's configuration. Spyware is software designed to collect personal information like what websites you visit or even surreptitiously transmit your personal information, such as your credit card number from your computer without your knowledge.
Why are they so bad?
While viruses can be intentionally destructive, for example, by destroying data, many viruses are fairly benign or merely annoying. Adware is mainly annoying but spyware can be downright dangerous if it manages to get hold of important information like your passwords or credit card information.
How do I know if my computer is infected?
The scary thing with viruses, adware and spyware is that they are designed to covertly operate for a relatively long period of time in your computer without being detected. Therefore it’s very important to follow the preventive methods described later in this guide.
The common symptoms of a virus infection are that your computer runs more slowly than normally, stops responding and locks up often, crashes and restarts frequently or fails to run normally. Other possible symptoms are that the applications don’t work properly and you can’t print correctly, the discs and disc drives on your computer are inaccessible and you see unusual error messages.
The signs of spyware or adware infection are similar to the signs of a computer virus infection, but in addition to those you might get unwanted pop-up windows on your screen even if you’re not browsing in the Internet, your web browser’s start up page can be different than it should be or you might notice an unwanted toolbar on your web browser.
How do I protect my computer from intruders?
Even though the idea of having unwanted software running on your computer is scary, by following few easy steps you can keep your computer free of viruses, adware, spyware and other uninvited guests.
1. Install a firewall.
An Internet firewall is a computer program or hardware appliance that screens out viruses, worms and other "malware" that try to access your computer over the Internet. Installing a firewall is the most effective and the most important first step you can take to protect your computer. Install the firewall before you access the Internet for the first time and keep it running at all times.
You can purchase a firewall for your computer from a local computer store or from the Internet. Some operating systems like Windows XP (with service pack 2) and MacOS X have a built-in firewall.
2. Install anti-virus software
In addition to a firewall you should install some kind of anti-virus software before connecting the first time to the Internet. A typical anti-virus software scans for the new viruses entering your computer, cleans up any viruses it finds and makes sure they can't do any more harm.
Just like firewall, your anti-virus software should be turned on at all the times so that when you start up your computer the virus scanner will also open. This ensures that viruses are caught as soon as possible. An anti-virus software will also check disks inserted in your computer, emails you receive and programs you download from the Internet for viruses.
If you receive a virus, your anti-virus software will usually notify you then will try to repair the file the virus has infected. It also isolates any files that can’t be repaired and tries to rescue any files it can. Some software asks you to send the virus to the anti-virus company. If it is a new one the company will add it to their database.
Anti-virus software can be purchased via the Internet or from any store selling computer software. It’s also worth checking with your Internet provider to find out what services they offer in this regard. Note that if your computer is infected, it might be dangerous to buy software from Internet since a spyware might be able to steal your credit card information even if you entered it into a secure webpage.
The anti-virus software should be suitable for your computer and the programs you have installed. There are different kinds of software available for Windows, Linux and MacOS users. The most common anti-virus software programs are provided by McAfee, Norton AntiVirus by Symantec, Cisco Systems or Microsoft.
3. Keep your software and computer updated.
As the viruses change constantly, it is very important that you keep your computer’s operating system, firewall software and the anti-virus software up to date. The anti-virus software will automatically ask to be updated so make sure you do that. Many virus scanners can be obtained bundled with one year of free "updates" included. After this subsciption runs out, the program will usually recommend that you re-subscribe in order to keep up-to-date with the needed protection.
4. Don’t open suspicious email
Most viruses arrive on your computer via email. Do not open an email attachment you haven’t expected or if you don’t recognize, even if you use an anti-virus software. Note that it is possible to get virus infected email also from your friends’ and colleagues’ email-addresses. A virus is not dangerous until the infected attachment is opened. Check that the contents of the message make sense before you open any attachments. Don't forward any attachment without being sure it is safe. Delete any email you think is infected and empty your deleted items folder regularly.
5. Be careful when closing the pop up windows.
Pop up windows are windows that “pop up” on your computer screen when you go to the certain websites. Some websites try to fool you to accidentally download spyware or adware to your computer by clicking OK or Accept button on the pop up window. The safest way to close a pop up window is to close it from the little box with “x” on it on the top of the window.
6. Think twice before downloading files from Internet.
You can also get viruses, adware and spyware to your computer by downloading software and other files from the Internet. If the software is free and provided by an unknown software developer, or is an illegal "cracked" or "hacked" version of commercial software it is more likely to contain an additional and unwanted software virus than if you download or buy it from a respected and well-known software developer.
In KSA the Internet Filtering system protects the Internet users from accidentally accessing the most dangerous websites, but it is still wise to use caution when downloading files from the Internet or closing unwanted pop up windows.
7. Back up your files
To avoid losing your work in case your computer gets infected by a virus make sure you have a recent backup of your most important work. If you usually back up the contents of your disk to an external hard drive or other writable media like floppy disks, don't place backup disks in your computer if you think you have a virus, as the virus could spread to your backups.
8. How do I obtain antivirus or firewall software?
How do you know if you have already a firewall and antivirus software installed on your computer?
Firewall: If your computer doesn’t use Windows XP with service pack 2 or MacOS X, then the first thing is to look for software that has word “firewall” in its name.
Antivirus: look for software that has word “antivirus” in its name.
Other words in software names that can refer to the antivirus or firewall are “guard” or “defender”. Since the names and brands change all the time, it’s best that you ask the person from whom you obtained your computer if it has a firewall or antivirus software pre-installed.
9.How do I find the best firewall or antivirus software?
The easiest way to find a good firewall or antivirus software is to go to your local computer store and ask for their recommendations.
If you want to find the list of the best firewall and antivirus software programs from the Internet, search the web for “top firewall” or “top antivirus” and the current year. There are many websites that have lists of the best programs. The websites of PC magazines are for instance very reliable sources -- just make sure that you read their latest reviews.
After you have found a couple of software programs that sound right to you, go to their websites. All the reliable software developers offer plenty of information about their software on their website. Look at the snapshots of the software and check out their help section for more information on downloading, installing and using the software.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Do they have Arabic version of the software (if you want an Arabic-language version)?
Does the software look like it is easy to install and use? Do you have to uninstall other programs before installing the software?
If you buy the software today, how long will you receive free updates for it?
How do you update the new virus information on your antivirus software?
How often does the company offer updates for virus information?
What other features does the software offer in addition to the basic features? Your firewall software should at least keep the intruders out and your computer hidden from other Internet users, until you want them to see you. Your antivirus software should at least be able to detect and isolate any viruses.
What kind of technical support does the company offer to you? Do they offer only written help documents and email support or can you call them or even chat with them online?
It is also worthwhile to check out software packages that include both antivirus and firewall software. There are also many free antivirus and firewall programs on the Internet, even though they tend to offer less protection, updates and technical support than the commercial versions.
Many major software developers offer free trial versions of their software. A trial version means that you can try out the full program or limited version of the program for a limited amount of time (usually from one week to a month). If you are still unsure if a certain software is right for you, try first to use a trial version of it.
Conclusion
By following these steps using the Internet is relatively safe. Be sure to spread teh word and tell others about these preventive strategies, and you can sleep your nights peacefully.