A computer virus is software that is capable of creating a lot of problems to your computer programs and files. It can even affect your hard disk as well. These viruses travel through the Internet from computer to computer. Some of them can even be used to extract information from your computer illegally with the intent to sell. With all your personal information, identity theft becomes easy.

Often times your computer will begin doing weird things and stop running like it usually does when it has acquired a virus. Some signs of this can be your computer is reacting slower, freezing up frequently, runs and then restarts itself many times, some programs are not running at all and the it does not recognize disks or disk drives in the computer. You will also see some strange programs that were not there in the computer before, which you did not install.

You should run an anti-virus program to see if you do have a virus and where it is located. Sometimes your computer shows signs of having a virus, but this may also be due to other hardware failures that your computer is having and it may not have anything to do with computer viruses.

Removing computer viruses is not an easy task. Even experts need the help of removal tools. It is therefore very important to have the latest anti-virus updates on your computer. These programs have been created to stop most of the viruses from getting through, before they enter your computer in the first place. Of course, once you have a virus, you will have to try and get rid of it without losing too much of your data in the process. This also applies to the memory on your hard drive.

Prevention is perhaps the best solution to computer viruses. There are a few things that you can do to make sure that you don’t get viruses in the first place. First, keep your firewall on at all times. This will help keep unwanted programs out. Secondly, keep your system completely up-to-date to be able to handle the latest viruses efficiently. Next, make sure you have a good anti-virus software and that it is not expired. Now make sure to use antispyware software to protect your computer as well. Make sure you have all the information on these products and tools to keep your computer healthy at all times.