Learn about viruses

Preventing viruses

The risks of infection and data destruction by one of the thousands of viruses in circulation is very real.

Viruses can cause immense damage. The I Love You virus, for example, caused an estimated $10 billion (US) worth of economic damages and initiated a Denial-of-Service attack against the White House Web site in the year 2000. Individuals infected with the virus found much of their personal data, music and multimedia files overwritten with copies of the virus.

Where do viruses come from?

Viruses are created by programmers, both amateur and professional. Amateurs often create viruses simply to show off their programming skills to the world. Professionals are increasingly creating viruses to steal information and money. There are even malicious virus writers who are seeking only to harm other people's property and livelihoods.

How you can protect yourself

You can proactively block viruses from getting into your system by taking the following all-important steps:

• Make sure you have comprehensive anti-virus software that protects you from all the latest threats.
• Don't open email attachments from strangers and unknown sources. Opening spam or junk email - especially unknown attachments - risks a virus infection that could cripple your computer, damage your files or steal your personal information.
• Download responsibly. Make sure that you only download software from companies that you trust. File sharing services can be a source of infection, as can pirated software.
• Make back-ups of your important files by regularly copying them to a CD or DVD, external hard drive or memory stick. Then, if you lose your files, you can simply restore them from your back-ups.
• Install a personal firewall that blocks access to and from uninvited sources. If you already have a firewall installed on your computer, make sure it is turned on.
• Make your passwords as secure as possible by:
  • using passwords that have at least eight characters and include numbers or symbols
  • not using personal information, your login name or adjacent keys on the keyboard as passwords
  • changing your passwords regularly
  • not using the same password for each online account you access

You should also be very careful about giving out personal information online, especially credit card or banking information. Make sure you know where your information is going before sharing it, and ensure that you make all of your online purchases via secure services.