Think of a biological virus \u2013 the kind that makes you sick. It\u2019s persistently nasty, keeps you from functioning normally and often requires something powerful to get rid of it. A computer virus is very similar. Designed to relentlessly replicate, these threats\u00a0infect your programs and files, alter the way your computer operates or stop it from working altogether. It\u2019s estimated that the ‘Conficker’ malware\u00a0infected more than 10 million computers in 2009, which was a massive amount back then.<\/p>\n
The amount of viruses and their capability to inflict damage have only increased since then. Today,\u00a0hundreds of thousands of them\u00a0operate over the internet, and new variants are discovered every day. When you couple this with the discoveries of mass-scale security flaws\/vulnerabilities\u00a0(such as ‘Heartbleed’<\/a> and ‘Bash’<\/a> in 2014), the cyber-world really starts to look like a scary place. It is. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself and your devices.<\/p>\n Even if you\u2019re careful, you can pick one up through normal online activities like:<\/p>\n Some computer viruses are programmed to harm your computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard drive. Others simply replicate themselves or flood a network with traffic, making it impossible to perform any internet activity. Even less harmful versions\u00a0can significantly disrupt your system\u2019s performance, sapping computer memory and causing frequent computer crashes.<\/p>\n Your computer may be infected if you recognize any of these malware\u00a0symptoms:<\/p>\n When you arm yourself with information and resources, you\u2019re wiser about computer security threats and less vulnerable to threat tactics. Take these steps to safeguard your PC with the best protection:<\/p>\nHow does it\u00a0find me?<\/h2>\n
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What does it do?<\/h2>\n
What are the symptoms?<\/h2>\n
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Arming yourself with the best protection<\/h2>\n
Make sure that you have the best security software<\/a> products installed on your computer:<\/h3>\n