Hack #97. Protect Your PC from Viruses

Stop incoming and outgoing viruses before they begin to tear apart your new system.

It happens to all of us. You will get at least one virus infection on your PC whether you like it or not. Whether or not that virus does any damage is mostly up to you and a little bit of software. A significant new virus is distributed every week or so, and yet there are thousands if not millions of PCs that have outdated virus protection, or none at all.

Ultimately it matters little which virus protection product you choose; you simply need to be protected. Ideally you want to use a virus protection product that does little, if anything, to get in your way and slow down your work and covers your email, web browsing, and the files on your hard drives as well as other writable media.

Almost every maker of virus protection software offers a free trial version for download, and most new PCs and motherboards come with a full or partial version of one product or the other. Be aware that a big brand name does not necessarily mean the fastest, most, or best protection. You can download and try each product to see which you like best, removing the previously installed product(s) through Add/Remove Programs and even using System Restore points to go back to preinstalled conditions. Check the license and subscription terms as well as the cost to determine if you'll be stuck buying the same product at nearly full price year after year.

If you need good virus protection ...

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