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Computers run so much of our lives nowadays. They run our payroll, our bank account, our school and company records, our governments and, for lots of people, our entertainment, so anything that disrupts computers has the potential to completely muck up our lives in the short term.

This state of affairs is bad enough, but there are also people out there who get their kicks out of composing and releasing viruses to infect our computers and mess up our lives. I am not talking of criminals, we have always had to put up with them, I mean teenagers and others who compose and release viruses to damage our computers for fun.

These days, lots of families are dispersed because members have travelled to other cities to study or work and occasionally this means going to other countries too. Most of these people rely on computers and the Internet to stay in touch. A bug could mean the disruption of these contacts and even the obliteration of family photo albums.

You may conclude that we rely on computers too much and many people would agree with you, especially those who have lost vital information to computer viruses. At worst, you could have your identity stolen and have our financial life completely disrupted, but even losing your computer for a few days while it is repaired ‘in the shop’ is bad enough.

In my case, this would mean loss of income, for others it may mean a violation of privacy or even theft. So, what should we do to safeguard ourselves?

Antivirus software is the solution.

Antivirus software used to mean a program to scan files coming into your computer, but nowadays it means much more. Decent AV software will now include a firewall to protect your computer from being hacked and a malware scanner to stop incoming files from dropping trojans and worms etc onto your hard disk.

These small programs can read the keys that you press and send the information back to their creator. These key presses can be analyzed to disclose your preferences on search engines (in order to spam you) or your log in particulars to your bank (in order to steal from you).

So, you have to install either a good antivirus software suite, which will include all of the above or you could get the components individually. Not so long ago, you would have had to purchase all these things, but now some are built into Windows. Windows now comes with a firewall and antivirus software, which will also scan email.

This is powerfull enough for most users, but if you would like to take your computer’s safety to a higher level, you ought to add a dedicated malware scanner, of which there are loads of good free ones. If you consider that it takes too much time to run two or three individual programs and keep them up to date or if you would like a higher level of protection, you may think about buying an AV software suite.

There are plenty of good ones like Norton, Nod, Kaspersky and others which cost little over $30 a year for total peace of mind.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the cheap antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software

To a lot of computer users spyware, adware and computer viruses are all the same. In a way they are: they have all been sneaked onto your computer and none of them are going to benefit you, the computer user. They are all a royal pain in the neck.

However, there are differences between them and, as a computer owner, you may just as well know what those differences are so that you can correctly make a decision how many resources you are going to dedicate to getting rid of them.

Spyware: spyware is like a parasite. It can be delivered to your computer via email attachments, as part of a free program or even as part of a program you paid for. Often, spyware is attached to something useful that individuals pass about because it is helpful, humorous or pornographic.

Once the ebook or email is opened, the parasitic spyware goes off and hides somewhere in your computer. Spyware can do lots of things, but like all good parasites, it is not there to harm your computer.

It is there to read your key presses, scan your disk drives and record the websites you visit. Then, say, once a week, while the computer is inactive, it sends all this knowledge home to its creator. The creator can then use this knowledge as he or she wants, but first they have to untangle it all. Software will do that.

The least that will occur is that the data will show that you have been searching for, say, new shoes on line and you will receive heaps of spam on new shoes. One of the worst things that can happen is that it will have read your banking details and there might be an attempt on your bank account.

Adware: adware is comparable, but it is seen as almost legitimate. Typically, a useful program like a download accelerator will note where it has downloaded files for you from and it will report that back to its creator and you will be spammed again.

Robbery is not part of the raison d’etre of adware. Look in your cookies and you will see dozens of these little programs collecting knowledge on your every move. Most of the big names in the computer world, including Google, use Adware in the form of cookies to find out what you would like before anyone else does, so that they can be the first to serve it up to you.

Computer Viruses: include Trojans, worms and all the other types of malware to most individuals. These are usually disruptive or destructive in nature and intended to ruin your computing or surfing experience. It is easy to understand why someone would create spyware and adware, but not viruses. Some people seem to get a thrill out of causing mayhem for others.

The only manner to keep spyware, adware and computer viruses off your computer is by using powerful antivirus software and a firewall. Numerous people are happy with the amount of protection that the free Windows firewall and AV software provides.

Others use the free Windows firewall, but use a third party free AV program. Yet others purchase a commercial package that has its own firewall and AV software. It really depends on the level of protection that you are comfortable with and whether you are prepared to pay for it.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the cheap antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software