Protect Against Malicious Software

We all know it happens - you are typing on your computer and decide to search for your favorite singer on their website, or search for an actor. Then: bam!  You get millions of popups invading your computer desktop.  As quickly as you remove one, another comes in.  Someone has installed a malicious piece of software on one of your favorite websites.  You stare at the screen blankly while you try to figure out what to do.

You might be able to alleviate this problem before it starts.  The biggest issue that allows the propagation of malicious software is that many people don't have adequate antivirus software installed on their computers.

The first time this happened to me, I called the computer geek.  But over time, I have taken steps to learn how to prevent this myself because, unfortunately, it is not an isolated incident.  It will happen again since computer hackers always seem to find a way around firewalls and programs that computer software programmers create.

Many people find Norton Antivirus very helpful.  Their 360 program works behind the scenes, doing thorough scans and blocking harmful data. It protects against having your homepage being corrupted, and can pretty easily identify whether you are the one using your computer or if someone else has hijacked it.  It even does a quick PC tuneup every time you turn the computer on to make sure there are no new issues to fix.  It feels almost like a parent always watching you and yelling at you to stop touching something before you have even touched it!  We can always appreciate this type of protection when it comes to our computer systems. 

Another free program that I use is SuperAnti Spyware.  When you go to their website, you will see the free download button right at the top of the screen. You can even upgrade to a more protected program which will track any problems as they arise.  This program is focused on getting rid of the tracking cookies which are attached to your computer every time you visit a website.  These cookies allow the companies to find out the type of person that visits their site and allows them to focus specific advertisements to that person.  While it is good for business, it opens up your computer to the world and to anyone who wants to hack into your system.

With these small steps taken, you should have the best protection against this malicious software: catching it before it becomes a problem.