Without good anti virus software, you could be taking some unnecessary chances with your personal computer. There are also other dangers to consider. Here is a look at some of the things that can happen to you, and why it is so important to protect yourself from these dangers.

If you are not the only one who uses your home or office computer, it is important to protect it against viruses and other threats. For example, you may know not to download an attachment that you are uncertain of. However, someone else in the household may not, and this can infect a computer. Infected computers can sometimes be impossible to use.

Each day, millions of emails are sent out with dangerous attachments. These attachments can install themselves if someone merely clicks on them. In addition, it may do its dirty work without you even knowing. For example, if you accidentally download an email worm, it will run in the background of the computer. The worm will use your email client to send out copies of itself to everyone on your contact list. This is why it can be dangerous to download things from people that you know.

It is possible to receive an infection on your PC by simply visiting a website. This is how many people receive hijacking programs. These programs can literally take over your browser. They often change your home browser page and your default search engine. In some cases, these programs can prevent you from accessing most online sites.

Computer viruses are notorious for slowing down computer operation. They run in the background and eat up valuable system resources. This can make it very frustrating to try to do anything on the computer. In addition, you may have no idea what is wrong with the computer.

Once you decide to use reliable anti virus software on your personal computer, it will be protected from many hidden threats. You can use the program to completely scan all of the drives on the computer. If viruses are located, the computer will isolate them and provide you with options for dealing with them. However, good programs do a great deal more than this.

Good anti virus software monitors your computer whenever it is on. It will alert you to any kinds of threats. These threats can be from an online source, or they may be from something you are installing on the computer. For example, you may be surfing the Web and accidentally come upon a dangerous site. Your antivirus program will alert you with a pop up window and perhaps a warning sound. It will tell you about the threat and what action you should take.

Identity theft is one of the biggest problems that people face today. Once someone steals your identity, it can ruin your credit and your life for many years. Good anti virus software helps to protect your personal information from online identity thieves. This is one of many reasons to have an antivirus program on your computer. You and your computer will be much safer, and this can provide peace of mind.