by John Messina

Created on: June 12, 2008

Did you know that there are over 200,000 known viruses and 300 new ones are discovered every month?

Spyware hits 91% of all computers that are on line. Did you know that spyware can be on your computer right now without your knowledge? Spyware operates in the background and keeps track of every move you make on line. Spyware can collect important information like your passwords, email addresses, and a list of all the websites you have visited; all this which can lead to identity theft.

Email is another camping ground for hackers. Malware will appear to come from someone you know and have an attachment that will release a virus that can reduce your computers performance and cause strange behaviors. You may not notice these behaviors until the next time you turn your computer on.

Phishing comes in the form of an official email and request confidential information by asking you to log into your account and storing your user name and password. These emails often resemble mail that comes from your bank or credit Card Company. There is usually a link on the email, that once you click on it will bring you to a phony sign in screen that's looks identical to your bank or Credit Card Company's website. This fraudulent site then collects your username and password and uses it to withdraw funds from you account.

Web Surfing onto fraudulent websites may also be used to steal your personal information. Beware of phishing attacks that re-direct you to a phony website that downloads malicious code used to gather personal information from your computer. This can be avoided by using McAfee Site Advisor. A free version is available from McAfee's website.

Beware of phony websites that will attempt to install spyware when you visit them. They often appear as pop ups and offer to check your computer for viruses or claim to check your computers speed and offer ways to improve your computers performance.

The two leading Virus Protection Companies that offers protection against all these computer attacks are Symantec and McAfee. They both offer firewall, spyware, and virus protection for your computer. Without having all this protection your computer will be vulnerable to attacks and ultimately may have its performance greatly degraded.

If your computer's performance is degraded to point of being un-useable, your hard drive will need to be re-formatted and you're Operating System and all your programs will have to be re-installed.

It's very important to have all your data backed up on CD's, DVD's or an external hard drive. This will save you grief, in the long run, if your computer ever fails and all your data is lost.

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