Security: Fixing And Preventing Viruses

A computer virus is a program which is designed to harm your computer and your data. They can be spread by email, file sharing, or even worms which make their way around the internet.
For this reason, we always recommend that you have an up to date virus scanner, and a firewall installed on your computer. We recommend that you use a security package made by McAfee (see more details) - though there are many other companies that provide anti virus and firewall programs.

What else can I do?

You should also make sure that your operating system is up to date, with the latest security updates/patches.
Microsoft Windows users should visit the Windows Update facility for more information
Whereas Apple Mac users should visit the Apple website for more information

You should also remember to make regular backups of any important work that needs to be kept - just in case anything happens

You should also not open up any attachments sent to you via email - if you either do not know who it is from, or, you wasn't expecting anything

What if I have a virus - what should I do?

If you do get a virus - don't panic, the first thing you should do is update your virus definitions of your anti virus program - and then run a full system scan. You should also make sure that you have fully updated your operating system, as a virus could be exploiting a vulnerability from within the coding.


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