Virus Safety

Viruses are programs that are loaded onto your computer without your knowledge. They can be downloaded with pictures and files from the web or they can be attached with email messages. Viruses are one type of malware. Malware is short for "malicious software," and includes software such as viruses, worms, spyware, and Trojan horses. Worms use security holes in networks to replicate themselves. Spyware is usually associated with the download of an application to your computer. It is called "spyware" because it is often meant to collect information on you. Trojan horses, or trojans, are actual programs that claim to do one thing, but actually do harm to your computer.

It's a good rule to only open files that you know are safe. Avoid opening files that are connected to advertisements or pop-up windows. If you use e-mail, only open file attachments from people that you trust.

Most home computers made today come with anti-virus software already installed. Many personal computers running the Windows operating system, for instance, come equipped with Norton Anti-Virus, a program that scans your computer periodically to make sure that it is virus-free. This program will generally run on its own, but you can also launch it manually by clicking on the Start button, sliding your mouse up to programs, and selecting your anti-virus program on the menu that slides out to the side.

You can also find good free virus scanners on the web. You can search for "anti-virus scan" in Google, and you should be able to find a number of different scanners. One of the many good ones is House Call, available from Trend Micro. You can find it at this URL:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com

You may want to write down that address in case you want to check it out later. Remember, there's no www in this one!