Beat computer bugs to the punch with virus protection

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You've heard a story like this one before. I came home one day, turned on my computer, and found it was running sluggishly. I checked the regular maintenance options and programs my computer was running and everything looked fine, but the computer was still sluggish. A few days later, a friend ran a virus scan and found that my computer had been infected by a virus.

The virus had infected more than 2,000 of my files and was continuing to take more processor power. My friend ran an anti-virus program and it was able to clean the files, though it took the better part of a day.

If you get a computer virus and don't catch it, eventually the virus could completely prevent the computer from starting. You could turn the machine on, but nothing would load. To get up and running again, it was necessary to re-format my entire computer. Depending on the virus, I still might not have gotten any destroyed data back.

A virus is a computer program designed to maliciously attack your computer. There are different types of viruses -- some attack by multiplying themselves, others infect computer files in order to steal data and still others are designed to irreparably harm the operating system.

Malicious Web sites will install this software on your computer without your knowledge. Anti-virus software protects you from known viruses and the programs should automatically update to keep your computer protection ahead of new viruses.

One type of protection comes in the form of encryption programs, which use an algorithm to automatically turn information that is plugged into them into random codes that can only be decoded by the same algorithm. Cracking an encryption is very difficult. It's considered nearly fool-proof when it comes to protection. Data, a credit card number, for example, is protected from anybody trying to steal it, so only you and the party you're sending the data to can read it.

You can purchase programs online, like Encrypt ($29.95, www.firetrust.com) to encrypt delicate information.

Another type of protection, a firewall, is an unbreakable digital barrier -- think of it as a sort of wall shielding your computer from anything lurking on the Internet -- that stops any malicious data that tries to come in. A popular firewall monitoring program is Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security (rates vary, www.trendmicro.com) and Norton's Personal Firewall 3.0 for Macintosh ($69.95, www.norton.com).

Spyware is computer software designed to monitor your computer activity, including Web sites you visit, programs you run and files on your computer. Spyware programs can steal your data and/or slow down your computer.

Then there's malware, most notoriously known to be the cause of annoying pop-ups. McAfee's anti-spyware will protect against both of these ($29.99 download, $39.99 physical shipment, www.mcafee.com).

McAfee, Trend Micro and Norton's anti-viral computer protection programs are considered highly reputable, and Trend Micro offers free online virus and malware scanners, which are nice protection bonuses.

For more information, Trend Micro, McAfee and Norton's Web sites have databases of computer protection and virus information. Many protection software systems also can be purchased in-store or online at electronics stores like Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com), Circuit City (www.circuitcity.com) and Fry's (www.frys.com).

Maria Phelan is a reporter for the Green Valley and Henderson Views. Retail information appropriate for mention can be sent to mphelan@viewnews.com.