NOTE: This article was not written to scare you, but rather to inform you of the dangers of getting a virus. Although it is unlikely that you will ever experience one, the risk is certainly there - we have had many experiences ourselves! Therefore, it is important that you take a moment to learn exactly how to prevent an infection before it occurs!

When it comes to computers, there are two words guaranteed to get a reaction from people ... the first is crash ... and the second is virus! In fact, people work themselves into such a panic when faced with the possibility of a virus, you would think they had been exposed to Eboli!

We've already taken some time to discuss how you can protect yourself against hard drive crashes, so now it is time to tackle the dreaded virus! You see, although computer viruses can do damage, they are not life threatening - there are steps you can take to protect yourself against them!

First, let's make sure we're all on the same wavelength by taking a moment to define what, exactly, a virus is! Viruses are programs that infect other programs by replicating themselves within the other programs. Like their real world counterparts, viruses can also mutate as they are passed from one system to another.

Many viruses don't do a heck of a lot ... or they are so poorly designed that they are almost immediately caught by virus detection software. For example, there are some viruses that are designed to send email to all of your friends saying "Hi!" or "Merry Xmas". That's all they do. They are a virus... a pretty stupid virus... but they do not do much more than cause people to panic!

The panic is caused by the fact that people do not understand what the virus is doing. They imagine all kinds of horrible things including dead and eviscerated hard drives! So, even though some viruses are not intended to do damage, they are still malicious because your computer and your computer programs are being tampered with - without your knowledge or permission!

In some cases, even these so called "harmless viruses" can still do damage because they are often poorly programmed by people who do not fully understand how software and hardware interact. Because these novice virus makers do not know any better, they can potentially do incredible amounts of unintended damage.

However, the really dangerous viruses are those that are purposefully programmed to do damage to your computer! For example, some are programmed to overwrite the files on your hard drive. With these kind of viruses, panic is justified!

Some viruses are programmed to become active when you launch a program ... or on a certain date ... so it not surprising that there were all sorts of nutcases out there who tried their hand at creating a nifty Y2K virus! Other trigger dates are Friday the 13th, Christmas, birthdays of famous people, etc....

Viruses fall into one of several categories, depending on how they are spread.

1. Boot Sector or System Sector Viruses

These viruses attach themselves in your computer's system sectors. System sectors are areas on your hard drive that execute when you boot your computer. These sectors are important for the overall functioning of your computer.

Viruses are passed by infected floppy disks, not by sharing programs or by executing files. One of the ways you can tell whether or not you are infected with this type of virus is to run "Scandisk" (which is a windows based drive integrity program). Scandisk will scan your entire hard drive (or drives) and notify you if there are any "bad sectors". Multiple bad sectors can mean that you either have a virus, or that your drive is getting old.

2. File Viruses

This is the most prevalent type of virus, usually infecting common files ( .exe, .com, .sys, .dll, or .bin). When a program is started, the virus begins replicating itself and attaching itself to other programs. The easiest viruses to detect are those that overwrite program files. However, the deadlier viruses are those that slowly alter files, making changes to programs over a period of time.

3. Macro Viruses

Macro Viruses attack the templates of your various computer programs. For example, Microsoft Word contains a number of useful templates for resumes, fax cover sheets, etc. The virus is designed to infect the template so that any document created using it will be damaged and infected. As a result, Macro viruses can spread very quickly, as most people do not realize that documents and spreadsheets can be infected.

Of course, there are also some other pretty nasty little things that people mistakenly believe to be viruses. These include:

1. Logic Bombs

In real life, bombs are not considered to be a threat until someone triggers them. Logic bombs work much the same way... they can sit in your computer for years, twiddling their fingers until something sets them off. This "something" can be a date, the number of times a program is used, the deletion of a particular file, etc. When the bomb is set off, it does something really nasty... it may change bits of data... or delete entire files!

2. Worms

Worms can do a great job of gumming up multi-unit networks because they are designed to multiply themselves, using up more and more space on your hard drive... until it's completely full!

3. Trojans

In order to wage battle upon the city of Troy, Odysseus hid his Greek troops inside a hollow Trojan horse. The Trojans took the horse as a gift, not aware that it was filled with warriors. This same technique is used by "Trojans", which are usually given to you, disguised as something useful like a program. However, when they arrive on your hard drive, they proceed to declare war!

There are also a number of other things that people blame on viruses... even though a virus was nowhere in the vicinity of their system. These fall under the following categories:

1. Faulty software

2. Faulty hardware

3. Faulty users (AKA people!)

Most people are totally intimidated and mystified by viruses - they do not understand how you can get them ... or how you can't!

Here's how you can't get viruses:

1. From your toilet seat.

Just kidding! What are you doing with your computer in the bathroom anyway? Some places are sacred, don't you know!

2. By reading a web page.

There are definitely security issues while on the web, but you cannot get a virus by simply viewing a web page! The way you could get a virus off the web is by downloading a program or file and then executing it. If you download anything from the web, scan it for viruses before you open it!

3. By simply opening your email.

You cannot get a virus by simply opening and reading your email. The danger is in the file attachments! There are many email programs that automatically launch applications such as Word, WordPad, or Access when an attachment is received. Although this feature is intended to be "helpful", it can actually be quite dangerous and should be disabled! (The "Help" file of your email program should provide instructions about how this can be done.) You should always be sure to scan any attachments that you receive before opening them - attachments are quite possibly the biggest threat when it comes to viruses! Always be extra careful opening attachments from people you do not know.

4. Downloading files.

You will not get a virus by simply downloading a file. However, opening the file or executing a program might! Once again, always be sure to scan anything that you've downloaded into your system. That way, if your anti-virus software says that the file contains a virus, you can simply delete it! No problem!

So by now, you might now be wondering about how you CAN get a virus!

So happy you asked ....

1. Executing programs that you have downloaded, borrowed, and sometimes even purchased! As I mentioned above, this is by far one of the most common ways to become "infected" with a virus. However, people do not realize how easy this is to prevent! All that you need to do, in order to fully protect yourself, is run a virus scan on any program that you borrow, download or purchase. (Yes, unfortunately, there are some very shady people who sell programs with viruses in them! It is rare, but you need to be aware that it DOES happen!) There is more on what virus protection software you need below.

2. Inserting a CD. This is also uncommon, but possible. The popular virus scanners will be able to pick this up and stop the virus in its tracks!

3. Opening files that arrive as email attachments, as downloads, or on floppy disks. As I've mentioned above, these are the kind of file that you want to scan for viruses BEFORE you execute them!

We've talked about how you can and cannot get viruses. Now it's time to discuss your protection options. It's pretty scary to think that you can get a virus simply by opening a funny email that a friend sent you... but it does happen! However, if you protect yourself properly, it is unlikely that you will ever have this problem!

The best way to prevent viruses is to install virus detection software. However, do not just install it and forget about it! New viruses are created every day, so you need virus detection software that will automatically update itself on a regular basis. Once a week, if not more frequently, is usually the best.

Virus Protection Software

There are dozens of packages available from your local software dealer ... or through Internet downloads. Be sure that you can get regular updates for the package you choose. Some even offer versions that will automatically update themselves every week by logging online, protecting you against the multitude of new viruses that are created every day!

The following is a list of the most popular Virus Protection software (though it is by no means comprehensive):

McAfee has a very nice virus section on their site. It includes virus alerts ... a useful section explaining what to do when you have been infected by a virus ... and regular updates to their anti-virus software for both PCs and Macs. This is the software we use and rely on to defeat any virus threats. We simply could not survive without it. It has been very reliable and we would not trade it for the world.

Integrity Master from Stiller Research offers a 60 day free trial.

Symantec's AntiVirus Center also has virus alerts and regular updates for both PCs (Norton AntiVirus) and Macs. I do not find their virus section to be as well organized as McAffee's ... but all the information you will need is there!

You can also take a look at Dr. Solomon's website and software. They cater to European markets and have software in a variety of languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish and more.

Virus detection software is your BEST defense against the malicious damage viruses can do to your computer and your software programs. If you don't already have software in place, NOW would be a good time to get some! I cannot stress this enough - you should get software that will automatically perform updates! You should not need to do any work other than the initial scheduling, and even that should be simple. Although Symantec's site is not particularly well-organized, it has the easiest and most user-friendly update system I have seen.

If you want to find out about computer hoaxes and myths visit kumite.com.

You can't buy "disaster insurance" for computer viruses or for hard drive crashes. However, you can get insurance in the form of anti-virus software... and by backing-up your data on a regular basis! If you are not already using anti-virus software, NOW would be a great time to start!

Don't wait for disaster to strike... be prepared!