Is your antivirus up to date?

So you have installed anti-virus on your computer.  That’s enough right?  Maybe not. 

You might not know it, but most antivirus products are subscription based.  Most will automatically update with the latest virus definitions (that’s technical speak for all the viruses that the software can detect)… but only for 12 months.

After that, you might need to give them your credit card details to renew your antivirus subscription – or you will have to go down to your local shop (or click here) to purchase a more recent version of the software.

So… is your antivirus up to date?  If not, your computer isn’t being protected from the latest virus threats.

What is a Virus?

You might read about them in the newspaper, see them on the TV, or even hear about them from your friends and family.  But what is a computer virus exactly?

Good question!

The technical definition (according to Wikipedia) is something along the lines of “a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer.”  That sounds pretty harmless right?  WRONG!

Whilst a computer virus can’t infect you or your family, it can do some things that will definitely have an impact on you and your family.

• Viruses could delete all your data – like all those digital family photos!
• Viruses could make your machine run slow – and make you want to spend thousands of dollars on a new one
• Viruses could infect the computers of your friends and colleagues – an embarrassing situation you don’t want to cause

You might have heard of of other things like Spyware, Adware, Malware and Trojan Horses.  Whilst these are all very bad for your pc or laptop, they are technically not computer viruses.  That is because they don’t copy themselves onto other machines.

So how do you combat computer viruses?

Another good question!  The best way to avoid viruses (and those other things like spyware and trojan horses) is to install some antivirus and internet security software on your computer.  Something like Norton 360.

Anti-virus software is your best line of defence, and should pick up any viruses you might already have.  If that doesn’t work though, you will need to talk to a local computer company who specialise in removing viruses from home and work desktops and laptops.

Practical advice to help you protect your family computer

Hi there… and welcome to the Brisbane Virus Removal blog.

The purpose of this blog is to help families in Brisbane, Australia protect their photos, videos, documents and more from the nastites that live on the internet – you know what I am talking about – viruses, spyware, malware and more.

Hopefully the resources on this blog will help you stay protected at home!