Anti Virus Protection

Anti virus protection is a must for anyone who uses email, surfs the Internet or copies files from any other computer or source..  Viruses are malicious strings of code that are imbedded in email attachments, in JAVA code in web sites or Macros.

They can be anything from cute little boxes that you can't chase down on your computer to completely reformatting the hard drive on your next reboot.  This would mean a complete and total loss of data with virtually no chance of recovery.

Why do people write viruses?  It probably started out as a joke among friends but it transformed into a destructive and malicious force to deal with.  There are several companies that produce anti virus software and one would have to think that it is in their best interests that hackers keep writing viruses.

That being said I'm going to step out of my usual reluctance on recommending any software.  I have been involved with computers for many years and tried most everything on the market at one time or another.  I have to say with all that experience you will have the least amount of trouble with Mcafee antivirus.  To scan your computer on line now visit their site McAfee.com VirusScan Online

There are people who swear by Norton but I was the service manager for the area's largest independent computer retailer and we'd get about 5 to 10 calls a week with people saying "my computer was working fine yesterday and today I turned it on and all I get is blue screen."  The first thing I learned to ask was "are you using Norton?' 6 out of 10 times they said yes.  I instructed them how to start in Safe Mode and remove Norton.  They'd call me back and tell me it was working fine.

Whatever you choose make sure you update it at least once a week and if you don't have it running when your on line and opening email then it isn't doing you any good.