Viruses are uninvited guests in your computer programming. They enter your computer through some common mistakes that we will discuss today in this blog. Moreover, we will give you tips on getting a virus on your computer.
In 2021, cybercrimes were raised as the public was in work from home working culture. However, the usuality of cybercrimes and the advent of viruses on computers doesn’t justify the loss people incur. It is still a big issue yet with solutions. Yes! You read it right. Avoiding virus attacks is possible. All you need is to follow the tips that we are going to share below.
Ways To Prevent Computer From Virus
1) Use Strong Passwords
Hackers have become smarter over the period of time, they know the common combinations people use. Make the password combination that is really personal to you yet unguessable. Also, the hint which comes once you enter the wrong password should not be quite direct to guess the password. Such as, “my mother’s name, my date of birth, my school name”
Use a unique combination of numbers, symbols and letters to make 8 characters password.
2) Install Antivirus Software
Online shopping, internet banking and casual browsing seem convenient but it involves a risk of virus attacks and other cyber security threats. Viruses could steal your essential information may be personal or professional which may lead to big losses.
To avoid such losses and information leakage, you must have antivirus software installed on your computer. Antivirus software is specially made to prevent viruses from entering your computer.
They scan all programs which get processed in the device. Also, they run an automatic scan every day to make sure there is no virus threat present in the device. However, antivirus benefits are not limited to this, you can read our blog Which Is Better For Security: VPNs Vs Antivirus to know more about Antivirus.
3) Enable Firewall
If you think that we have antivirus software, we do not need any other layer of protection. Unfortunately, you are wrong! Firewalls are equally important to escape from viruses in the computer.
Usually, PCs come with a pre-installed firewall. Your job is to ensure that they are enabled to provide an additional layer of protection.
Enable firewall With These Easy Steps:
- Go to the Control Panel
- Click System and Security
- Windows Defender Firewall
- Turn on Windows Firewall
4) Avoid Pirated Software
Pirated software are indeed illegal so including other illegal stuff into them is not a tough job for hackers. Therefore, maximum pirated systems and software could have viruses.
If you are using a pirated system or planning to install one. First of all, it is illegal so better you avoid it. Still, if you want to go ahead, make sure you have antivirus software (a genuine one) to scan for viruses as most of the time, it is just a virus filled in the software rather than the game, video or software you are looking for.
Also, if you mistakenly downloaded a virus containing the pirated file. Just uninstall and delete it immediately.
5) Keep Your Computer Up-To-Date
We usually avoid updates because of the flow we have got in the current one, right? Well, the updates are equally important to stay protected from virus attacks as the software companies keep upgrading their technologies to remove bugs that a hacker could exploit.
If you are using software from 4 years, and have not updated it timely. You are more prone to get a virus on your device as hackers keep looking for such mistakes from the user end.
To evade such scenarios, keep updating your computers, software, applications and other programmes. The best would be enabling an auto-update.
6) Think Twice Before Opening Email Attachment
Have you ever noticed your email provider warns you before opening or downloading an email attachment? Well, there is a genuine reason behind it. They want to ensure that you know the sender and the file attached so you won’t get trapped with a virus containing email attachment.
Disable image previews as there are some viruses attached with the images, and get activated as soon you open an email. Go to the settings and disable it right from there.
Remember, it is very easy for a hacker to put a virus through email attachments. They have become pro in this. Therefore, open files from trusted sources only. On top of it, it will be great to ask the source about the attachment before downloading it. Alternatively, you can run an antivirus scan before downloading.
Conclusion
It is crucial to save personal and professional data from hackers. You may lose confidential information to them which may affect your business too. If you do not want this to happen, you must adhere to the tips to avoid getting a virus. Use strong passwords, install antivirus software, enable the firewall, avoid pirated systems and software, keep your programmes, applications and software updated. Also, make sure to disable the image preview. In brief, do not give any chance to hackers to access your computer and useful information. For more information on how to avoid viruses in computers, subscribe to our newsletter. We keep updating our website with the security measures that you can take to reduce cyber threat risks.