Four Common Behaviors that Lead to Getting Computer Viruses Again and Again

Cyber Security ⯀  

A computer virus can be an extremely annoying problem to deal with. Browsers redirecting to spam sites and computers running slow would be the least of your problems though. Truly malicious viruses may steal information from your hard drive or log your keystrokes. No virus of any kind presents an acceptable risk. Once you do get a virus, you likely become much more diligent to protect against them.

Even by being a bit more careful, you might find yourself continually experiencing virus infections. Certain users may find themselves constantly under assault by malware, viruses, and other malicious programs. Questioning why a particular computer seems to experience more viruses becomes the first step in addressing the issue. In truth, many different reasons exist why someone might keep getting viruses. Here's a brief look at some of the more common ones.

The Anti-Virus Hasn't Been Updated

Never take an "I'll get around to it later" attitude towards updating virus definitions. Those writing the code for new viruses certainly don't take any time off. They consistently update their viruses in order to breach the defenses of anti-virus programs that instituted protections against them. In order to make sure an anti-virus can effectively protect against threats, routine updates must be installed. Allowing too much time to go by without an update frequently leads to virus definitions being out of date. So, new viruses may breach the inadequate defenses of the anti-virus without much trouble.

Get in the habit of updating definitions. Otherwise, even the best anti-virus may prove useless.

Failure to Purchase a Quality Anti-Virus

Everyone likes to save money. Reasonable frugality extends to many different purchases. Choosing to use a cheap or outright free anti-virus program might not be the best decision though. An anti-virus must be reliable. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of installing one? Stick with proven endpoint protection software programs designed to do their job effectively. A costly software package may eliminate the disastrous consequences of installing a weak program incapable of doing its job.

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Not Upgrading Security Patches in an Operating System

Operating system updates do more than just add neat new features. Although those added features can make running the operating system easier, they might not be as important as the security patch fixes present in the updates. Operating systems come with holes and vulnerabilities. Even when they are fixed, virus programmers look for new vulnerabilities and release malicious programs capable of breaching the OS. Not everyone realizes or appreciates how serious the threats are. As a result, OS updates get delayed.

One reason people choose to delay their operating system updates centers on the long delays in computer use updates may cause. Someone who relies on a computer for work probably doesn't want to lose an hour or productivity. So, he/she chooses to "update later." "Later" could eventually turn into several weeks. That creates a highly-risky situation since the computer lacks adequate protections for an extended period of time. Don't take chances. Perform updates as soon as the opportunity to do so emerges.

Failure to Curb Bad Habits

Sad to say, some bring about their own problems with viruses due to their conduct online. Downloading pirated content and material or continuing to visit websites known for being homes to viruses doesn't help the cause of maintaining security. If any of your internet browsing activities place your computer at risk, consider it wise to not engage in such behavior. This would be true even when you purchase the best available anti-virus system. An anti-virus should be utilized to deal with unexpected intrusion and infection attempts. Deliberately putting a computer at great risk the hope the anti-virus can handle every threat might be too risky.

By  Carol Evenson	Embed
Author Bio - Carol Evenson is a corporate trainer and experienced business consultant. She specializes in team management and growth hacking.