“Insure” Yourself Against Computer Intruders – Your Flash Drive May Become Your New Best Friend

When your computer gets infected with a nasty worm, virus, or Trojan, sometimes it will prevent you from accessing the Internet to download virus removal tools. It will also prevent your anti-virus program from getting the latest virus definitions online, which limits its ability to remove the infections in your computer. If this is the case, you’re in trouble.

You should always be prepared for the worst. It’s like getting car insurance; you need it most when something bad happens…you get into a car accident or when you get pulled over by the police. It’s too late to get insurance after that bad thing has occurred; procrastination will cost you a lot of money in fines and repair cost.

Similarly, if you’re not prepared when your computer gets infected, it can cost you a few hundred dollars for an I.T. consultant or service provider to restore your computer’s health. It can also take a few days for you to get your computer back, and that might mean losing a few days of work.

Did you know that when you download files or look at images from the Internet, your computer may automatically download those files or images in your temporary file folder so you can view them at a much faster speed? If you aren’t careful, some of the Internet’s downloadable or viewable contents may come with malicious applications or executable attachments that can infect your computer with viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, malware, key loggers, and so forth…all of which are as unsavory as they sound.

These intruders-viruses, Trojans, worms, malwares, and key loggers-are meant to do your system harm or get key information from your computer without your permission. Make sure you have the right tools in place to protect yourself and your machine from these threats.

To prepare yourself from a worm, virus or Trojan infection, you should have the latest ant-virus definition and update your anti-virus program regularly. You should also research online through Symantec, Microsoft, and other reputable Internet security sites for recommended virus removal software you can use. Be careful what you download and where you download utilities from; sometimes unnamed or unknown scanners are viruses themselves.

When you download new utilities to scan your computer, it’s a “best practice” to save them on a flash drive. There are several benefits to doing so:

– You can easily install your anti-virus utilities on different computers without having to re-download the programs from the websites. This will save you time. You’ll have easy access to your programs from your flash drive.

– If your computer is infected with a virus and you can’t access the Internet, you can access your cleanup utilities directly from your flash drive and perform your scans to remove the infection.

Post Author: Sophie Toby Hall

A former car magazine editor, Sophie’s blog offers in-depth car reviews, industry trends, and maintenance tips. Her breadth of knowledge makes her posts invaluable for both car enthusiasts and everyday drivers.