How to STOP Viruses From Destroying Your Personal Data

Malicious Software, or more commonly known as Malware, isn’t the kind of software you want on your PC or Mac.

Malware covers all different types of infections such as viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, rootkits, spyware, keyloggers and more. I won’t go into detail for each one, but what is important for you to understand is how they get on to your computer in the first place and how to stop it from happening.

SPAM EMAILS

The most common way that Malware infects a system is via a spam email. These are emails that’ll contain links to infected files, that when clicked on, will download the malicious file and the Malware goes to work.

Not all infections are as severe as one another, but the aim is to keep your system clean at all times.

Always be vigilant with suspicious emails, and if something doesn’t look quite right, don’t take the risk in downloading or clicking on any links. Instead, simply delete the email.

USB STICKS

Another route of infection is a USB memory stick. The Malware can be programmed to go to work as soon as you plug in a memory stick.

BUNDLED SOFTWARE

Just when you think you’re downloading a genuine piece of software, Malware can be installed in the background without your knowledge.

My advice on this is to always download software from the official vendor’s website. And instead of just clicking OK, make sure you read exactly what you’re installing.

HACKED WEBSITES

Webpages that have been compromised and hacked is also a common place for Malware.

SO HOW TO STOP MALWARE…

Gone are the days when you could just install a basic AntiVirus; as I explained earlier, Malware is more than just a virus. If your system was infected by Ransomware for example, it would scramble all your documents, photos and music to an unreadable format.

You’d then get a message on the screen to pay the ransom amount before you regain access to your information, but there’s no guarantee the fraudsters would play ball.

So here’s what you need to do…

For both a PC & Mac, I’d strongly recommend that you have both AntiVirus and Malware protection. These are available as separate apps or you can install it as one program, commonly known as an Internet Security suite.

Stay safe!