The Internet has greatly changed the way viruses spread. It used to be that viruses were only transmitted via floppy disks. Most computer users were aware of the virus threat, and would scan floppy disks before copying them. And if they didn't scan them, it was simple to locate and destroy the few viruses that were successful. It would take awhile before a virus could infect and affect a computer and its system, and even then, Antivirus software could usually locate and destroy viruses before too much damage was done.

With its conduit, the Internet changed everything. Prevention is uncertain, because some viruses can spread without human intervention. They can manipulate vulnerabilities in systems or programs. They can enter and attack through multiple entry points. They have evolved from "only via floppy" to through e-mail, peer to peer file sharing, software downloads, instant messaging, e-mail attachments and things of that nature, and they can spread from computer to computer in mere seconds.

There are viruses which send themselves to people from you without you knowing it. As technology increases, and computers converge, so do the endless possibilities of the next type of threat to your computer.

Even with all these threats, there are ways to protect your computer. As virus possibilities increase, so do antivirus software capabilities. In fact, and luckily, antivirus software has kept pace with current virus threats.

Antivirus programs are essential to your computer. Your computer needs to be able to protect itself and fend off viruses. Antivirus software is well designed to protect the various routes of viruses; be it email, browsers, file servers or desktops.

Rest assured, there are precautions you can take to help protect your computer from virus threats, by doing things such as upgrading your system, using trustworthy programs, scanning your computer, using caution with unknown sources, and making back ups.

Stay up to date! In the past, having one or no antivirus program was acceptable, but with the new viruses, you need to make certain that you have protected your computer in a multitude of ways (as the viruses now can attack in a multitude of ways). Protect your computer from desktop to network and from the server to the gateway. Use a comprehensive security system with several features, such as: antivirus, firewall, intrusion detection, and content filtering. Doing this will make it difficult for viruses to attack your computer.

As new viruses come out often, keep up to date on your software. Configure your software's real-time scan feature to start automatically each time you boot up your computer. This checks your computer every time you use it. Also, always scan new files and programs!

When opening Word or Excel documents from unknown sources, be careful. This goes double if it came from an instant message or from an email. If all precautions fail, and you end up with a virus, the best you can do is make sure that you have everything on your computer backed up. It will be the only way to recover your data, if the data was lost or corrupted due to a virus.

Keep your antivirus software updated, use caution when opening files or downloading, and backup your data. If you do all this, you will be at a lower risk for any virus attacks, and you will not regret it.