Computer viruses are big news in the world of computer security and in the world of Windows operating systems. Now that many people use always-connected broadband internet, it has become increasingly easy for viruses to spread between machines. What are viruses and what should you do to avoid them?

What are viruses?

Boo! Popular media and science fiction has portrayed the computer virus as something mystical and magical. In reality, it is no more than a malicious computer program

Despite what you may have heard, computer viruses are not magical. They cannot be transmitted through the air and while some of them are able to erase information from your computer, they cannot erase backup CD-ROM's you have made and they cannot cause your computer to explode! Computer viruses are computer programs, just like every other bit of software that runs on your PC. What makes computer viruses different however is the fact that they are designed to copy themselves, throughout your computer's memory or hard drive, or even across the internet. Many computer viruses have malicious components too, and may try to cause all sorts of mischief from slowing down your computer to allowing hackers to gain entry. Click here to see what Microsoft have to say about computer viruses.
What is the Difference Between Computer Viruses and Spyware?
Spyware is software specifically designed to watch things you do on your PC, perhaps to gather data on the websites you visit, or music you listen to. Plain spyware does not copy itself or exhibit other malicious behaviour, although many computer viruses are also spyware or contain spyware components. Not all spyware is necessarily bad. The popular music utility LastFM for example, is considered by some to be spyware, as it tracks what music you listen to. However, it uses that data to recommend bands and music to you that you might like, which makes it great fun to use and highly recommended!

What about "Trojans" ?

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. Actually, beware of any shady website offering freebies on the net

You remember the story of the Trojan horse, right? The Greeks manage to convince the Trojans that a giant wooden horse, containing lots of their warriors, was actually a gift from the Gods. The Trojans, thinking the Gods had smiled on them, took the horse inside their giant walled city, and then the Greeks burst out surprising them and overthrowing the city. Trojans that you get on your computer don't look like horses, but they may look like games, or pictures, or other files which may seem to be fun to play with. In actual fact when you click the file you will get a nasty surprise as a computer virus or malicious program lurks inside. Trojans can be computer viruses or spyware and are generally to be avoided.
What about "Scumware", "Parasites", "Malware" etc
Ok so there are many buzzwords going around but they all boil down to one thing, computer programs that are bad news for you, the owner and user of your computer. So, we know that this bad software is out there, what can we do to avoid it?

Don't let computer viruses ruin your day

Although there are a lot of viruses on the internet, it is important not to get carried away. With a few simple precautions it is easy to stay safe from this kind of threat online. Choosing good Antivirus software is only part of the solution, here are a few common-sense tips that every Windows user should follow:
Make Sure Your Operating System is Up To Date! If you don't have automatic updates enabled (we recommend you do) be sure to check for Windows updates frequently. Virus writers exploit mistakes or bugs in the operating system in order to install viruses or help them spread. Once these problems are known, Microsoft issues fixes to prevent this, so always make sure your operating system is up to date. For more information on updating your Windows machine, visit our comprehensive updating Windows pages.
Make Sure Your Web Browser is Up To Date! Whether you use Firefox or Internet Explorer, making sure that you are using the latest version will help keep you secure. If you are still using Internet Explorer 6 we strongly recommend you upgrade immediately. Virus writers love bugs (mistakes in the software) in your web browser, they can use them to smuggle viruses aboard your PC. Once Microsoft or Mozilla find out about these mistakes, they issue software updates to correct them.

Be Careful What Attachments You Open! Just because an attachment came from somebody you know, doesn't mean it is safe. Before opening an attachment, at least read the rest of the e-mail. It is usually easy to tell if an E-mail has been written by a virus rather than a human. Antivirus software can help you here by automatically detecting if an attachment is safe.
Consider using "Limited" accounts wherever possible.

Macintosh and Linux platforms are hardly ever affected by computer viruses and other types of malicious software. While some people believe this is because virus writers simply ignore these platforms, it is more likely due to the way in which these operating systems approach user account settings. On the Mac and on Linux, users have a limited account by default. Limited accounts can access most programs and files on the computer, but they cannot make changes to the system settings, such as the registry. Because of this, it is much harder for a virus to infect the system. Administrator accounts are only used on Linux and MacOS when changes need to be done to the system.
Windows has had limited accounts for some time now, however thanks to certain older (designed for Windows 98/ME) or poorly designed software packages that are not compatible with limited accounts, most users always run as an administrator, giving viruses and spyware a free run of the system. If all your applications are compatible, then you should run limited user accounts whenever possible. With Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced User Account Controls (UAC). While the frequent prompts that UAC generated were a shock to some users, UAC is great for security because it makes it possible to run a standard user account for day-to-day computing activities, providing another layer of security. We recommend all Windows Vista and Windows 7 users run standard user accounts.
Limited user accounts can be set up in the control panel, we show you exactly how to configure limited accounts in our online safety tutorials section.

Which antivirus software is the best?

Unfortunately there is no one correct answer to that question. However, out of the dozens and dozens of computer antivirus packages on the market, we have listed below the best three for you to consider. We believe that one and only one, (don't ever be tempted to install more than one Antivirus package at once, they will just interfere with each other) of the packages below will be the right choice for almost everyone.

Eset NOD32

Ask I.T. professionals what they consider to be the best antivirus and many will answer "NOD32". Why? Because NOD32 not only has probably the best detection rates for known and unknown viruses in the industry, but it is one of the most efficient antivirus solutions too. This means that it won't slow your computer down or consume lots of hard drive space. NOD can detect even unknown viruses by using what is called a "heuristic" scanner. What that means is it can scan programs and look for patterns which suggest virus-like behaviour. Virus Bulletin has consistently given NOD32 it's VB100 award and AV-Comparatives rated it the best antivirus of 2006.
Because NOD has very little impact on system performance, it is a popular choice for gamers who don't want to risk disabling their anti-virus while they play the latest processor intensive games.
NOD isn't the cheapest solution on the market, at just over £29 for a years subscription. Many solutions include a firewall or additional security software for a similar price. ESET also offer a combined firewall and NOD32 antivirus package called ESET smart security, this costs around £39 for a years subscription. For help with NOD32, check out the NOD32 Tutorials in our Antivirus Tutorials section.

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