We may not have enough expertise to differentiate between Viruses, Worms, Trojan horses and Spyware. But we all knew they are the kinds of Malware that could harm our computers! We can of course carry on our regular work on the computers despite being the drives being infested. But it isn’t certainly a pleasant experience to watch the screen filled with those nasty files and messages created by the virus. These are a few time tested tips that could prevent our computers being flooded with virus.

1- Never click on any e-mail attachments or links without being sure of its content. Never click on a pop up window even if it assures the best gifts in the world.

2- Don’t think much about the cost to be spent on an anti-virus. An effective and up-to-date antivirus could certainly save you from a huge trouble that can’t be estimated in the terms of money. Antivirus is just like a health insurance. You never know when it could save you!

3. Disabling the `Auto run’ feature can protect our system from the virus files that automatically gets executed whenever an infested CD or Pen drive is inserted.

4. Don’t click on the buttons that ask you to download certain software in order to watch a movie or enter a website. They can certainly be a menace in future.

5. Never leave your Wi-Fi open to public. Lock with a password and keep it private. Don’t use a free Wi-Fi on a devise where you have stored your personal information.

6. Now a day, external storage devices are not as costly as they used to be. So it’s always a great option to backup your data periodically. This would let you to format your computer when it is infested with virus. Further it would prevent your data being corrupted by the virus.

7. Pen drives are the easiest ways for the virus to enter the system. So don’t push every USB of your friend into your system. And don’t use your USB on a system which has no active antivirus.

8. When you are working on a system that is connected to a network... it is always recommended to turn on the FIREWALL option on windows.

9. Update your browser regularly so that you can take advantage of their advanced options such as pop-up blocking.

10. Some applications request to have access to your mail as well as `manage your contacts’. Be sure whether to share your privacy with such website or not!

- Nirjara