No matter how hard you try to be careful, you are bound to contract a computer virus. It happens to almost everyone at some point in time. If you are going into cyberspace with no protection at all though, you are certain to become infected. Here are some steps you can take to minimize your risk.

Purchase and use an external hard drive. Back up all your important files and documents to the external. In the event you have to reformat your hard drive, this will ensure you have access to all your important information.

Install anti-virus and schedule it to run daily. You also want to configure it to scan your emails for harmful attachments. AVG Free is an excellent anti virus program, and as the name suggests, it is free to download and use.

Any time you download something, make sure you scan it before opening it. This is a fast way to spread a virus. Take the extra 10 seconds to scan and keep your computer safe.

Download a spyware protection program. Super anti spyware is a great free spyware protector and it is free to use. The danger in spyware is that it can send information from your computer to a hacker. So when you log on to your bank account or into your credit card accounts, the information you are typing can be relayed to the hacker! Spyware protection and a firewall are crucial for protection against spyware.

Make sure you have a spam filter installed if you use a desktop email application. Use an online service such as Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail for web based email accounts. Make sure to set up your spam settings in the account settings.

Be careful when opening attachments. Always scan the attachment, and never, ever open an attachment with an EXE extension. This is more than likely a virus and once you open it there is no stopping it.

If you do become infected with a virus, disconnect from the internet and start running your anti virus program. Sometimes you will need to browse forums for help. In these cases use a different computer and take notes. If you are unable to remove the virus, then you may need to contact a pc tech who can resolve the issue for you.

Worse case scenario would involve reformatting your hard drive, which is basically starting from scratch with a fresh installation of windows. Hopefully you backed up all that important information.

Carry your life around on your back? Hopefully you have a decent bag for that laptop. I highly recommend the targus xl laptop backpack blackblue for maximum protection.

If you are the adventuring type looking for a dual purpose backpack, you can’t go wrong with the North Face Surge Laptop Backpack.

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