Prevent Computer Viruses
We repair a lot of computer viruses in our computer repair shop in Clayton NC. The one thing that seems to remain consistent is how they are infected. If we know it’s a teenager’s infected computer, we can almost always look in their computer and find BearShare, Kazaa, Limewire or some other file sharing program. Subsequently, we can usually scan the music directory of the infected computer – and voila, there’s an infected song file (or dozens).
While an MP3 file should actually NOT be able to infect a computer as it’s a data file and NOT an executable, it’s indicative that questionable files are being downloaded to a computer. ALSO it’s indicative that questionable websites are probably being visited. It is highly possible, unfortunately, for simple visitors to rogue websites to become infected. And you probably won’t even realize that a website is pushing down viruses to your computer until it’s too late.
What can you do to protect your (or your kid’s) computer from viruses?
- Don’t visit illegal software or music sites (THAT’S a no-brainer)
- Do NOT get files from sources that you don’t know.
- If it’s from Download.com – it’s probably going to be safe, however, if it’s from a Russian MP3 song sharing site – I really wouldn’t hold my breath on it.
- Enable showing file extensions on your computer. Windows hides them by default for some ridiculous reason. People will inadvertently click on something that they think is an MP3 file but discover that the file is actually “somesong.mp3.exe” – and Windows will graciously HIDE the “.exe” part for you.
If it looks like the computer has completely gone south on you – call Lizardwebs Computer Repair at 919.404.9327 for onsite computer repair or drop it off at our shop at 115 E 1st St in Clayton, NC for fast and trusted computer repairs!