...and how do I get rid of it?

Viruses seem to be a fact of life now. And it’s also true that the days of viruses getting onto our PCs from dodgy emails are mainly behind us. Computer users are generally wise to this ruse now and anti-virus programs are good enough that those who create viruses have given up on that route of infection.

And yet viruses and malware (malicious software) are still very much a part of the IT landscape and cleaning infected PCs is very much a part of our daily lives at MonkeyPuzzle.

So where do these viruses come from?

Below is a list of some of the more common routes and what you can do to protect yourself;

File Sharing

There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you are downloading music from a ‘free’ site then the likelihood is that site could be a prime route for malware and viruses. The files you are downloading are in actual fact located on all the other site users’ PCs and when you download the music you have no idea what else you are downloading.

‘Cracked’ Games

The lure of the latest video games for free is great, but again, if you’re not paying for it, it’s illegal. Over and above that, video games downloaded for ‘free’ are another good way to infect your PC for much the same reasons as above.

Porn Sites

Sorry to get a bit unsavoury, but people do use porn sites and porn sites are a great place to pick up computer viruses. That’s not to say if you have malware, you have been on a porn site, but it certainly works the other way around.

No Internet Security

If you are on the internet at all, then you need protection. Internet Security isn’t just scaremongering invented by the likes of Norton and McAfee to sell more products. You will get infected if you don’t have some sort of anti-virus at the very least. But viruses are one small part of what is out there - you really need a full internet security suite. We have always recommended AVG Internet Security as it doesn’t slow down your PC.

Whilst on this note, free anti-virus is fine as a basic level of protection, but only if you are also doing some manual malware scans and threat prevention. We really would recommend a full internet security suite.

That’s how the virus got there, now what do you do about it? Apart from not downloading illegal files and visiting dodgy sites, that is.

• Get yourself a decent paid for internet security solution.
• Download Malwarebytes anti-malware scanner (free for non-commercial use) here
• Regularly scan your PC

Oh and if you’re running your business from home, don’t use the same PC for business and home use. Because when it has to go and get the viruses removed, you can’t do any business while it’s in the workshop. Trust me, it happens.