Viruses and other malicious elements spread over the internet can try to harm your computer and network, putting your data, files, and even your hard drive at risk.

Unfortunately, these agents are commonly disguised as things you usually use or open, such as pop-ups, hyperlinks, video files, greeting cards, and other email attachments.

Also, there aren’t only viruses. A misstep can allow worms, spyware, ransomware, phishing schemes, and other threat actors to compromise your computer and network safety.

We know it’s scary to know that your personal and financial data can be stolen anytime, even if you just click a malicious link. However, many ways exist to avoid these attacks and protect your devices.

Install Antivirus-Software and Update It When Needed

You should install antivirus software to prevent viruses from invading your email, files, or operating systems. These solutions can protect you and your computer from threats, including malicious attachments, spyware, corrupt websites, and more.

Antivirus products have improved over the years. Now, they detect and delete or quarantine malicious code, preventing malware from damaging your devices or your data from being stolen.

However, you should update your antivirus software periodically to make sure it works as it should. Every day, there are new viruses and other types of malware. Therefore, this step is essential.

Most modern solutions update automatically to enhance protection against old and new viruses. However, you should ensure that yours is always up to date to keep your computer and network safe.

Don’t Forget Anti-spyware and Anti-malware Software

People often focus on preventing viruses, but malware and spyware can cause just as much damage. Always install software solutions that can protect your devices from these malicious elements.

Overall, anti-malware and anti-spyware products should have the same qualities as your antivirus software to offer optimal protection.

You can install antivirus software with malware and spyware scanning and removal features. These comprehensive solutions have been designed to support cybersecurity and are often effective.

However, these products don’t always find and remove everything, even if you buy the most expensive alternatives. Therefore, you should employ a multi-layered approach to safeguard your computer system.

Create Strong Passwords and Change Them Periodically

Passwords not only enhance privacy. Creating and using a strong computer password or phrase improves the whole system’s security.

Ideally, you should set up a complex password or phrase, combining 8-64 alphanumeric and special characters to prevent someone from cracking it.

In addition, you must follow a few rules, including these:

• Avoid using personal information, such as your name, in your password
• Never store your password on your device
• Update your password periodically
• Turn on two-factor authentication, if possible

The stronger and more complex your password is, the harder it will be for hackers to crack it. Also, if you change it periodically, you may prevent brute-force password cracks, which occur when others use a program to decode it and gain unauthorized access to your system.

Perform Full System Scans Every Day

As mentioned, your computer or network can be vulnerable to new viruses, malware, and spyware daily. These malicious elements are constantly evolving and pose new threats.

New viruses can evade your current protection system and infect your devices. Therefore, you should perform daily scans to detect those threat actors and quarantine or remove them.

Periodic scans are essential to detect these malicious agents before they cause further damage. Don’t take cybersecurity for granted. Reduce risks and avoid attacks by scanning your devices and networks regularly.

Research and Understand the Basics of Cybersecurity

You don’t have to take a crash course and become a security expert to enhance your computer and network safety efforts. You can develop and implement an effective strategy to prevent virus attacks if you understand the basics.

Many attacks happen because uneducated users do something they shouldn’t. However, if you understand how to protect your devices, you’ll make smarter decisions and reduce many risks.

Update Your Computer System Regularly

If you update your computer regularly, you’ll enjoy better performance. However, this practice’s benefits go far beyond that.

Hackers often exploit computer systems’ bugs and abnormalities to gain unauthorized access, steal data, and cause damage. Fortunately, updates can solve these issues.

Running regular updates can fix those bugs or abnormalities that put your system at risk of virus, malware, and spyware attacks.

Always Use Your Firewall

A firewall manages your network traffic to protect your computer or system from attacks and unauthorized access.

These digital security systems assess incoming traffic to detect malicious agents that may infect your computer or network. In response, they block unsolicited and unwanted elements.

Use your operating system’s built-in firewall features and update related settings according to your preferences to create a protective barrier around your devices and networks.

Be Cautious When Using Email

Email has changed people’s lives regarding how we communicate, store important information, and work. Unfortunately, hackers exploit this tool in many ways to steal data and attack devices.

Furthermore, Email attacks are increasingly common. The most common types are phishing, smishing, vishing, whaling, pharming, spyware, and scareware.

To protect your computer and network from these threats, you should avoid opening emails from addresses you don’t recognize. Delete them as soon as they show up in your inbox.

Make Periodic Backups

While it won’t help you avoid attacks, periodic backups can prevent important data loss if viruses infect your device or hackers access it.

When you perform periodic backups, you make your data and files recoverable after an attack or if a malicious agent damages your system.

You can find different backup options, but external hard drives and cloud services are the most common. Pick one based on your preferences and needs, whether you want to store your data online or on a physical, external device.

Use the Internet with Caution

The internet has not only changed humans’ lives. It transformed the world, becoming a key driver of social and technological evolution while revolutionizing businesses, governments, healthcare industries, education systems, and more.

However, users should always be careful. Even official sites that seem safe can contain spyware and malware. Moreover, just one click can cause a virus to infect your computer and allow a hacker to gain access to your network.

Also, many phony pages mimic authentic, official websites. Most have been designed to collect sensitive data and gain access to bank accounts, social media credentials, and credit card numbers.

Fortunately, you can avoid these threats and most attacks by following some safety precautions. Always check that the website’s name is spelled correctly when entering a URL. You should also avoid clicking on ads, pop-ups, graphics, and links to other pages or websites.

The following are other rules that can help you use the internet more securely:

• Don’t store usernames or passwords on websites
• Use spam-blocking tools to block malicious, unsolicited emails
• Use ad-blocking tools to block instant messages and pop-ups when you visit a website
• Only download files from trusted sources

Protect Your Computer With These Tips

Besides making periodic backups to ensure you can recover data if something harmful happens to your computer, you should also protect this device. In other words, you must be cautious when using it.

First, there’s sensitive data. Avoid storing sensitive information on your computer. If the device gets hacked, it could be stolen.

Also, you shouldn’t share access to your computer with strangers and never turn on file-sharing unless necessary.

To Sum It Up

Virus attacks are preventable, but you must be careful and know computer security basics.

 In summary, to prevent threats:

• Install an antivirus software and update it periodically
• Create strong and complex passwords and never store them online
• Don’t allow other people to use your computer without your permission
• Don’t browse websites you don’t trust or avoid clicking on their graphics, ads, and messages
• Don’t open email attachments from unknown senders
• Back up files on an external drive or use a cloud service
• Run virus scans every day to detect new threats
• Install anti-spyware and anti-malware software
• Update your computer system regularly
• Know cybersecurity basics and best practices

Final Thoughts

There are many methods and technological solutions to safeguard your computer and network. However, avoiding virus attacks is challenging. Therefore, if you want to protect your devices, you should hire experts.

CNG IT has a team of seasoned professionals offering first-class cybersecurity solutions. We’ll assist you in developing a comprehensive solution to protect your computer and systems from malicious agents.

Our team has extensive experience in cloud computing and virtualization, so we can help you schedule periodic backups to make your data retrievable if something happens.

In addition, we can make specific recommendations to protect your computer and network from current and emerging viruses, spyware, malware, and other threats. Contact us at (951) 317-9562 and get a free quote today!