It's a hot topic but not everyone is worried about it.? But what if you are one of those, who are worried about keeping your computer secure?



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Well, the first thing you need to do is get educated.? You need to learn a little about what threats can happen to your computer.? In this article I will cover the 3 types of viruses and what hackers really are.?

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Oh I know, you are asking do I have to fear the reaper.? Well, that my friend is up to you.? Just a little computer humor there.

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Ok, so the three types of viruses are as follows:

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1.? Trojan or backdoor virus

2.? Worm type viruses

3.? Macro viruses

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It is important to learn what each of these viruses is about and can do to your computer system.

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The first virus on the list, the Trojan virus can be used by hackers to access your system.? These types of viruses are usually planted through email.?

It is important to know that a virus is a program and cannot really do anything to your system unless you run it or click on it.?

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And mostly what happens is someone receives an email and clicks on an attachment.? This in turn opens the virus and runs the program.?

One the program is opened or executed.? This is where the damage can occur.?

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If a hacker has access to a program that allows them to scan for these viruses over the internet and they find your computer system unprotected.?

Then they could have full access to your system.? It,s actually kind of scary how easily they can do this.? Once they have access to your system they can then run the virus to do many things.?

They may be able to look at your files or they may just use it to attack other computers.? It all just depends on what they want to do.

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The next virus, the worm virus is pretty much what it sounds like.? This virus can worm its way through to get to its destination.?

Worm viruses spread like wild fire on the internet.? They can go from one computer to the next, usually by email and can even bring down portions of the internet and websites.

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The good news is usually there is a software remover that is written which can get rid of the worm virus pretty easily.

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The next virus is the macro virus.? This virus is usually associated with things like Microsoft word and other such programs.?

Word and others uses macros to run program functions.? A macro virus can attach itself to this macro and wreak havoc on a computer system.?

You have to be very careful when running attachments and macros through word and other programs.

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These are the basic types of viruses and what they can do to your system.?

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The last type of virus that I didn't mention before is the virus hoax.?

Some of these programs are set to do funny little things like change icons on your desktop but what they mostly do are instill fear into people.? This is bad enough in and of itself.?

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The real problem with hoax viruses is that they sometimes have instructions that tell people to do things to their computer.?

Once they perform this step, that is where the real damage is done.? This is just as bad as any common virus.

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By learning a little bit about computer viruses, you can fear them less.? It should be your goal to learn about them and then protect your computer.?

Viruses play a huge part today on the internet and you may not even realize just how much.?

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One of the best things you can do is keep your guard up.? Let's say you get an email with an attachment from someone.?

Do not open it unless you are absolutely sure you know what's in there.? Viruses spread quickly via email attachments, so be on the lookout.

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What do I mean by being on the lookout?? Ok, let's say you receive an email from pay pal asking for your personal information.?

Almost any company today will not ask for information over an email.? They would ask you to call them.? And if they do ask for information over the web it is usually to verify something small.?

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Always make sure you call the company first.? These types of scams are all over the internet.? You most likely already have received one in your email.?

Just make sure you question things and never ever give out your information.?

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Here is another example.? Back in about 1995 many people fell victim to an AOL scam where computer hackers were sending spam instant messages asking people for their AOL password and other information.?

Back at this time, AOL had no official type email that you knew came straight from AOL.? So many people would start to give out their passwords to the thieves.?

The thieves would then take the information and log on to their account and use it as they pleased.? I am sure some people had some very sensitive information in there.

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So in the end what you need is a good anti virus protection plan along with some other security solutions.?

Do not be fooled. An anti virus software package alone will not do the trick.? You need other things set in place to make sure everything is good.?

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One of these things is a good firewall, which you can buy at your local store.? A firewall helps keep you protected from hackers and other things.?

Your computer is a door and the internet is a highway.? People can travel along that highway and see your door.?

But, what if you door wasn't there.? What if it was invisible?? This is what a firewall accomplishes.? It, in effect makes your door stealth.

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Don't take any chances with your computer security.? Learn a little today to protect your prize investment and your information.