Computer Self-Defense v1.1

Computer Security in Plain English: Anti-Virus

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Help!? Online Scans

Online scans are avery good option if you're not sure your computer is virus-free. Most of the major AV (anti-virus) vendors offer these scans. Generally these are best run in Internet Explorer by going to the scanning site and following directions. Our favorites include Panda and TrendMicro.

Panda recently upgraded their online scan to ActiveScan 2.0
It's a great scan that you can even register for even more features.

Trend Micro™ HouseCall checks whether your computer has been infected by viruses, spyware, or other malware.

Anti-virus scans sometimes yield "false positives". For instance, both Panda and TrendMicro online scans will display tracking cookies as infections. These kinds of cookies are in fact very low risk files that pose no risk of actively infecting your computer. Tech tools like ip scanners often turn up as viruses in McAfees or Nortons.

If you think your computer is infected, don't be alarmed. Be informed. Any question as to what a file or name may be or mean, google the word. You'll have all the info you need as fast as it takes to load a website. HTH (hope this helps).

Anti-Virus Status

Almost everyone reading this already has an antivirus program (AV app) installed on their computer. But it's not a magic bullet. Get over it. Don't get me wrong. Anti-virus apps work and if you're running Windows, you need one. But users like to take it for granted they're protected. Don't take computer security for granted.

With Windows XP (SP2) and Vista, it's easy enough to check the status of your AV app by going to the Security Center in the Control Panel. Any installed AV app needs to be a recent version (2 years or less preferably) and updated regularly.

Which One?

There's often confusion about which AV product to use. With the wide variety of AV products on the market, most are rather capable. Some users are going to have an out-dated AV app that came with the computer. Some are using very powerful apps like Norton's or McAfee. But on older computers (and even newer ones) Norton's and McAfee can make a computer run very, very slow. There's some good free AV apps out there, like AVG, Avast, and AntiVir.

The important thing is being comfortable with what you're running. Also note, running more than one AV app at a time can cause many more problems than it solves (use online scans as a second AV instead!). And if you switch AV apps, be sure to remove the original one before installing a new one! Those last two points are important: one at a time, and take out the old AV before installing the new one. Save yourself some time and trouble.

A False Sense of Security

Sadly, viruses and especially spyware are constantly and rapidly evolving. The antivirus companies don't like to admit it, but they can barely keep up with the bad guys. In fact, the anti-virus companies are just getting around to dealing with spyware. You still need a seperate program for dealing the spyware.

When you have computer users who don't understand the importance of regularly updating their antivirus program, and go to sites and run programs they shouldn't, you can end up with one messed up computer. Whatever AV app you are running, it is NOT a magic bullet that will stop all viruses and spyware.

Last updated May 6th, 2008
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