Having your device infected with viruses can be common, and you may conduct a scan and remove the viruses without any issues. However, it can also be unusual! Some viruses have destructive effects on your device, while others may infect important files on your device, forcing you to delete them. Therefore, prevention is better than cure. Protecting your device from viruses is better than treating it. In this article, we will review five steps to protect your device from viruses.
First Step – Know What Computer Viruses are
“Know your enemy.” Certainly, the first thing you should do is to know what viruses are, their effects, and other information. If you don’t know your enemy, how can you protect yourself from it? Therefore, the first thing you should do is to read this article: What are computer viruses? And how do you know if your device is infected?
Second Step – Choose a Good Antivirus Program
The second most important step is to get a good antivirus program. Unfortunately, there is a misunderstanding in using antivirus software by everyone. Everyone, without exception, uses the best paid program (like Kaspersky, for example), and then uses fake keys or cracks, which prevents the program from receiving updates from the company. The equation is as follows: the strongest antivirus program without updates from the company = zero. These updates are crucial as new viruses are programmed daily. If you want to use a paid program, you should buy it, or use any free antivirus program (the best free antivirus programs).
Third Step – Downloading from the Internet
If you have carefully read the article “What are computer viruses? And how do you know if your device is infected?” You now know that certain files may be infected (especially exe files). Therefore, when downloading any file with this format, do not use it until you scan it with your antivirus program. If you use cracks and other means of violating copyrights (illegal programs), you should scan them thoroughly. Now you know well what files may be infected and how to protect yourself from them.
Fourth Step – Windows Updates
This step is very important for protection against intrusion. However, we will talk about protection against intrusion in a separate topic, and you can only get these updates if your Windows copy is genuine.
(The difference between genuine and fake copies is in the serial number. By using a fake serial number, your device will not be able to connect to the company, hence, you will not be able to receive the latest updates. The genuine serial number is for one device only.)
But in general, this step is not crucial for protecting against viruses.
Fifth Step – Email Browsing
Email is one of the fastest ways for viruses to spread. Be cautious when browsing your email. Only open messages from friends you know. As for attachments within messages, I recommend not opening them unless a friend has informed you in advance that they will be sending you an attachment. Some viruses send themselves through email, so avoid opening attachments unless you are certain a friend will send you one. (An attachment is a file sent within the message, which may be an image, Word file, program, etc.)
Important Notes and Tips
1. Do not install more than one antivirus program on your device as it can cause various issues and slow down the device. One updated program is sufficient.
2. Only download torrent files from trusted sites, as some torrents can be fake and infected files.
3. Enable the firewall on your computer by going to Control Panel, then Windows firewall, and turn it on.
4. Do not open a flash drive on the computer without scanning it with an antivirus program.
Your device is now protected against viruses. I hope this article was helpful and the steps were clear.
Other Topics That May Benefit You: How to Remove Viruses from Your Computer | How to Know If Your Device is Hacked or Infected with Viruses?
