How did I get that virus?

This is probably the question we hear most when folks come in to the shop (usually right after they see the bill).

Most often we can narrow down the cause of the infestation to a few of things:
- going bad places (porn and gambling) being the top two
- downloading everything under the sun, sort of the equivalent to a redneck saying "watch this"
- using peer to peer sharing networks, the big ones being BearShare and LimeWire
- following links in spam e-mail
- general internet surfing where most often the mouse is quicker than the brain

The next question is always, "Well how do I prevent it?"

The short answer is that you can't, virtually impossible, with the possible exception of unhooking your computer from the Internet. But here are some things that help:
- Get good antivirus software (that does not have to cost you anything)
- Maintain your machine (download updates, scan it regularly for accumulated junk)
- Think before you click (If you think the Nigerian foreign minister is really going to send you 6 gazillion dollars, go ahead and click... my number is)
- Read, yes read the fine print when you sign up for downloads, etc.
- If you have others who use your computer (including children) on the Internet, make it a practice to watch them and put rules in place about downloading, usage and where they can visit

posted by Matt @ 12:17 PM