Managed IT Services - How To Partner With Your AntiVirus Program

  Introduction: - One of the best things you can do as a computer user is to partner with your antivirus program. It's job is to protect you and your computer from bad actors on the internet, so it really does make sense. And, doing it is as simple as paying attention to the warning messages it gives you when it finds something that may be trouble.

These days we are inundated with ads notices alerts from nearly every source that your computer is connected to, and the middle of this big pile of noise is the legitimate alert from your antivirus program. It's alerts are different from all of the others because its mission is to protect you from a problems.

  How antivirus programs work - When you have a business class antivirus installed on your computer, the software sets up a brick wall around your computer and network. It monitors everything that tries to come in, go through, or around that wall. The program records it, checks it, and verifies it before it allows it in. That means your antivirus program is working constantly whether you're working on your computer or not. From time-to-time it's going to find something that doesn't look right or behave right. When this happens it sends an alert.

  Why you get these messages - You get messages from your antivirus program whenever it finds something that looks suspicious. Imagine for a moment that you had access to the text of every book in your local public library. Then every time you receive an email you could go and check every line of text in the email against every line of text in your library of books. That's what you anti-virus program does whenever you are working on the internet.

  This isn't a great analogy, but that's what your antivirus program does all day long, everyday. When it finds something that matches up with its library of virues, it immediately sends an alert to you to let you know it found something.

  How to partner with your antivirus - It may seem odd to to use the phrase "partner" with a software program, but as I mentioned earlier we get so many alerts messages and tickers in our day that it is easy to overlook or even dismiss the messages from your antivirus. Honestly, it would be nice if some of the constant alerts would just go away.

  So, to partner with your antivirus what I'm suggesting is that you don't ignore these messages. Give these messages the same priority you'd give a message from a friend or associate. Because, as I mentioned a few moments ago, it is your antivirus telling you it found something you should pay attention to.

  And, when you receive the alert, go ahead and scan your system for viruses. If you just arrived at a new, never before visited website, leave it immediately - even if it looks like your bank's website. Now if you know for sure that the alert you received can be ignored, then you can go ahead and continue using the site. But, just to be safe scan your computer anyway.

  Conclusion -There are all sorts of alerts, pop-ups and other things trying to get your attention. Your antivirus is just another alert in the pack. But, unlike some of the others that may be trying to sell you something, your antivirus is trying to protect you. To stay safe on your computer and the internet, give alerts from your antivirus priority. The next time you see an alert from the antivirus program on your computer, go ahead and read what it says. Try to think of it as a message from a trusted friend.