If you use the internet on your computer, it’s just a matter of time before you get a computer virus. So, once you are infected, what can you do? Here are 10 steps to help you get protection from computer viruses.

Make sure you get a high quality anti-virus program, of which there are many available, some better than others. Do some intensive research on the net, or ask a question in various online forums, or even try Yahoo Answers. Go to your local magazine rack, check in the computer magazines for review articles or even look in the classified section to help you find the one which seems to do what you require.

See if it emphasises the removal of Trojan viruses, which is just another name for spyware.

Once you’ve got the right anti-virus software, make sure it’s always running in the background whenever you are on the internet. It should be continually scanning incoming email messages, which are the main source of spyware, plus any software programs you are running, especially if they are ones which you have downloaded. If you have the original CDs of software programs, you should be pretty safe with those.

Once you have your antivirus programs, keep them updated with the latest versions. New viruses are coming out all the time and you need an antivirus system that can keep up. A lot of professional anti spyware programs will have an annual subscription, and will keep you alerted of any updates. Make sure you take advantage of these alerts, and always have the latest version. Some of the better programs will let you schedule these updates or a full system scan of your hard drive for off peak hours, such as the early hours of the morning, when you are not likely to be using your computer.

A good idea is to also keep your computer up to date. From time to time operating systems will be susceptible to security violations or they may have addressed issues, which were not done on your old computer. I try and update mine every two years; in fact I’ve just bought my latest one. Make sure you check periodically to make sure you are still running the up to date versions of all your software.

Make regular backups of your data, even though it may seem a chore. Most people on the Windows operating system keep their documents in the “My documents” folder. If you do this, it becomes easy to make a backup of all of your important documents simply by copying that folder. Buy yourself an external hard drive, and keep your backups on there. If possible, never have this external hard drive connected while you are on the internet, that way you will always have some uncontaminated data.

Take extra care if you use floppy disks or USB drives on public computers at your school or an internet caf

It amazes me that for whatever reason people tend to overlook this problem time and time again. With the expansion of the Internet comes more threats. There are people in this world that want to cause harm to your computer, just because they can. You may not know when or where these attacks will occur, but it can happen to you at a moments notice.

When you are online you are sharing a vast network with millions of other users from all over the planet. Some of these user like to abuse the Internet by sending you spam emails or even worst, these people can be hackers and those who create viruses meant to harm your system.

You may have received an email from an unknown sender with an attach link or file with the sole propose to cause havoc to recipient. This file could be an Trojan, keylogger, adware, spyware or a number of the thousands of harmful viruses that can damage your computer, and the time and hard work you spend to customize your system can be wipe clean.

Some of the more well known viruses have been the:

Anna Kournikova virus

This arrives as an email attachment. Opening this attachment infects your machine. Once infected, the virus mails itself to all recipients found in the Windows Address Book.

Lovsan Worm virus also known as “Blaster” or “MSBlaster”

Has quickly infected computers throughout the Internet. The worm takes advantage of a flaw in Windows operating systems to drop a malicious program on your computer. Unlike typical computer viruses, which usually arrive as email attachments, Internet worms attack communication ports on vulnerable computers, often without the user’s knowledge. By taking advantage of a vulnerability in Windows, the worm is able to spread without requiring any action on the part of the user.

Nimda

Infects web servers and local files. Its main goal is simply to spread over the Internet and Intranet, infecting as many users as possible and creating so much traffic that networks are virtually unusable.

The “I Love You” Virus

This virus is pernicious, using Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express to send itself to everyone on a Contact List from these programs, and destructively replacing files. The subject line of the infectious email reads “ILOVEYOU”, and the message of the email reads “Kindly check the attached LOVELETTER coming from me.”

The attachment, which has the destructive Visual Basic script, is named “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs” If you receive this email attachment, DON”T OPEN IT!!! Your computer will not become infected unless you open the attachment on purpose. Reading the email won’t infect your computer.

You should also be careful when using File sharing, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) software. This platform is great place for people to spread viruses to other people by simply creating or modifying an virus and renamed this program to a popular file name. Then once the file have completed downloading, the unsuspected user opens the file, and the destruction begins.

It can be a simply problem that hoping your anti virus will detect and alert you of a potential danger, or the virus may just completely wipe you hard drive in seconds. For those of you can use popular p2p programs like kazaa, limewire, shareaza, emule and others, please do not download any file that may look suspicious with a weird a file extension. This file may look like “britney spears.jpg.exe” or “norton antivirus.exe” with a smaller file size then usually.

If you have an antivirus software, you can simply, “right click” a file on your system and scan for viruses, before your open the file itself. This method can help you, but is not foolproof.

Don’t be the next victim. Take these steps to help keep the odds in your favor of being protected:

Antivirus Software

An premium antivirus software like Panda Platinum Internet Security (which includes an antivirus, firewall, spam blocker, and anti-spyware), BitDefender, or The Shield Pro is the most critical element of your Internet safety. If you don’t have up-to-date antivirus software on your PC you’re asking for trouble. A good antivirus software will find viruses that haven’t yet infected your computer and remove the ones that have.

Firewall Software

Windows XP comes built-in with a firewall, and if you are running Service Pack 2, it is turned on by default. Although Windows XP’s firewall is certainly better than nothing, you should strongly consider acquiring another firewall to work on top of, or replace (recommended!) the firewall that comes with Windows XP.

Firewall software watches these ports to make sure that only safe communication is happening between your computer and other computers online. If it sees something dangerous happening it blocks that port on your computer to make sure your computer stays safe from the person who is trying to hack into your system.

Some of the better firewalls are Zone Alarm Pro, Norton Personal Firewall, Panda Platinum Internet Security, and The Shield Pro.

Spyware Removal

There is a good chance that if you are actively online with your computer system that in some way spyware will get installed. All it takes is just clicking on the wrong site or by signing up for some web programs. Another issue with spyware is the danger of invasion of privacy. Remember that these programs can collect all types of data from you computer system and then send back to its creator. Spyware usually collects information that can be used for advertising, marketing to see what websites you visit on a frequent bases.

There are several spyware tools available, but many provide insufficient protection. Some of the better spyware removers are; Webroot Spy Sweeper, XoftSpySE, and AdwareAlert.

Internet is the ?network of all networks?. It is composed of millions of smaller networks (business, academic, domestic, and government) which carry different information and online-based services, such as online chatting, file transfer, electronic mail services, and interlinked web pages as well as other documents stored in the World Wide Web. With such an enormous interconnection of various networks, transfer and acquisition of information is now fast, efficient, and reliable. Who would ever think that the Internet will be as powerful as it is nowadays?

Aside from fast and efficient transfer of information and other useful data, the Internet is now the biggest job, business, and product marketplace around the world. Whether you are looking for a new job, searching for a new business opportunity to start with, or want to sell or purchase different lines of products, the Internet is the best place to start with. Through various innovations integrated in the information superhighway, Internet became one of the fastest solutions in terms of livelihood and other means of generating revenues for individuals of different interests.

However, there are things that we neglect sometimes, which are superimposed by the benefits offered by the Internet. One of which is the online threats, composed of so-called ?cyber criminals?, creating chaos to the Internet public by means of developing virus programs and other elements that may harm an Internet user?s computer system. At first glance, you will think that it is just a simple yet attractive banner ad that pops-up in your computer screen, yet you will realize later on that you are already dealing with a virus program, destroying the internal memory and other components of your computer system.

The increase of online threats is very alarming. Most research shows that there are 3 out of 10 Internet users who are plagued by online threats of varying degrees. Because of lack of necessary security, they have a hard time dealing with these problems, thus losing their computer system within a few days. So sad, but it is the reality that we need to accept.

To avoid getting into such situation, it is strongly recommended that you install a security software into your computer system, especially if it is connected to the Internet. There are hundreds of software developers who created programs that will help you thwart these online threats out of your way. One of which is the CA?s eTrust Internet Security Suite.

Created by the Computer Associates, eTrust Internet Security Suite provides extensive protection against different kinds of online threats?viruses, identity thieves, spyware, malware, and hackers that can jeopardize your privacy in surfing the Internet, data storage, and the performance of your computer system. In fact, the security suite is a combination of easy to use, business-strength technology with automatic updates and pre-configured settings that will work out for the security of your computer system.

eTrust Internet Security Suite has the following main features:

? It eliminates the presence of any type of viruses, worms, and Trojan horse programs.

? It targets the spyware before it can bring adverse effects to your computer system.

? It blocks unwanted spam.

? It stops intruders from penetrating your computer system, thus eliminating the risk of your personal information and other useful data be accessed by unauthorized individuals.

? It keeps websites out, especially pornographic sites, which is believed to carry viruses and other online threats.

Do not take protection for granted. Avoid getting caught in the line of fire because of these online threats. Get the eTrust Internet Security Suite and protect your computer system as well as yourself.