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Cleaning Your Computer
by: Brian LaCrette
Cleaning viruses off your computer system can be an easy
process if you have the right tool. There are many fee and
free programs that you can use to do this, ones that you may
not even know are available to you. Many of these programs
are set up so that even the most novice of computer user can
use them without a probleam. Running a virus scanner will
safeguard your computer, and may save you from a lot of headaches
in the future.
Some of the well known virus scanners are made by Symantec
(Norton), Mcaffee, and Trend Micro. Computer Manufacturers
will even include a month to six months to a year of free
updates with these virus scanners. Once these free updates
run out, it doesnt mean that your virus scannner is not working.
It means it wont be updated with the latest virus information.
While it is reccommended that you have the most recent updates,
having the virus scanner itself on your computer will afford
you some protection. I dont recommned keeping your computer
this way, but if it is your only option, as in you some how
cant download one of the free virus scanners I will mention
later on in this article, make sure you keep atleast this
one line of protection on your computer. Norton and Mcafee
sell their antivirus programs for 39.99. You get a years worth
of updates with both of theses. Trendmicro bundles their antivirus
package with their internet security suite. This costs $49.99,
the same as the Mcafee internet security suite, but less than
the Norton internet security suite at 69.99. If the information
on your system is important to you, the cost is actuallty
very reasonable.
There are ways you can save money on Antivirus programs.
Many internet service poviders such as aol, verizon, and netscape
have started to offer their customers the choice of getting
virus protection from them. For instance, with verizon dsl,
you can download MSN Premium, which in turn allows you to
download Mcafee's virus scan for absolutely free. You simply
have to make sure to sign into msn to verify your subscription
once every few months. The reminder is actually very non intrusive.
Netscape for an additional 3.00 a month will provide you with
antivirus protection from Mcafee as well. This comes out to
36.00, so you'll save about 3.99 against buying the actual
program. While this is not much, as they say, every little
saving adds up over time. For AOL users, you get a free Mcafee
virus scan online included with your service for no extra
charge. If you're not sure if your isp offers a free virus
scanner, you can check over their web site, send their representatives
an email, or give them a call. For those of you signed up
with the very very inexpensive isp's make sure that you're
not going to be charged to call them for information. Most
of them though will offer free email support.
For an abosolutely free virus scanner that any home user
can get, you can check out a company named TrendMicro Housecall.
While it will not reside on your computer to actively protect
you from viruses, you can run the program from the internet
to verify your computer is virus free, or even to remove a
virus if it has not caused enough damage to your computer
to stop you from using it. It is available at http://housecall.trendmicro.com.
Another free virus scanner that you can download is AVG free
edition from Grisoft. It has an in resident scanner that can
actively protect you from viruses. You can download it from
http://free.grisoft.com.
If you like the free version, and would like a more full featured
anti virus program, Grisoft also offers a paid version to
their antivirus program.
So no matter what you budget is, you can get a virus scanner
from some where. You can even get the full featured clients
depending on which isp you are using. The most important thing
is that you have the scanner on your computer, protecting
your data from harm.
Hardware, Programming, Software
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