The Internet age has created a truly global network, but there are downsides to the exposure this brings. The most significant being the seemingly unmitigated virus attacks that most PCs today are prone to. Viruses pose a very real threat, and they may come in the form of harmless looking e-mails to spyware from websites promising valuable services.
It is a fact that the widely used e-mail is the most common source of computer threats and viruses. Even innocuous e-mails from a friend’s e-mail ID could potentially carry a threat. This may come as a surprise, but viruses typically hack the user’s e-mail and send out bulk mails to all the IDs stored on one’s address book. Downloading attachments and even clicking unknown links on e-mails can result in a virus or worm hacking your computer. The tried-and-true approach to protecting your PC is to be exercise caution when e-mails carry an attachment and avoid clicking any embedded links if the sender seems unfamiliar.
A range of potent viruses and worms, spyware, and other malicious software can gain access to your computer via the Internet. These potent agents can come from any downloaded content whether it is copyrighted streaming media or movies or even pirated software. Not all free downloads from the Internet are safe, and potential threats lurk at every corner. It is recommended that you install an effective antivirus program on your PC. In addition, always enable your Windows firewall when accessing the web.
One of the lesser known ways to protect your PC from threats is to run all recent upgrades on your Windows operating system. These program updates in many cases also carry valuable security and maintenance patches. Also most of these updates are automatically triggered and updated via a one-click user authorization, so running these updates require little if any that effort on the part of the user. In many cases failure to run the latest updates can pose a security threat so make sure you protect your PC by keeping these installations up to date.