Volunteer Computers, Inc. Prepares for the Holiday Virus Season

‘Tis the season for computer viruses, fa la la la la, la la la la.

As the schools are about to let out for the holiday season, more and more people will be surfing the web. With this being said, the staff at Volunteer Computers, Inc. wants to warn everyone to proceed with caution when entering the World Wide Web.

During the tough economic times, more and more people are shopping online for the best deals, rather than making the trip to the stores. After shopping around and placing items into the virtual shopping cart, the next step is to enter the dreaded credit card information. Most websites use secure checkout systems to protect their customers from identity theft and similar situations. But there are some computer hackers that thrive on stealing the credit card information from users or even implanting tracking information or viruses into the shopper’s computer.

According to BrightHub.com, the top three computer viruses of 2009 are Win32/Conficker, INF/Autorun, and Win32/PSW.OnLineGames. Most of the viruses are spread by visiting infected websites or by downloading files infected with a virus. The Conficker and Autorun viruses make use of the auto run feature in Windows and then infect specified files or folders. The OnLineGames virus is spread through the use of playing games online and steals the user’s information, including any financial information the user supplies.

Paul Lyons, licensed computer technician for Volunteer Computers, Inc., advises that users try to avoid infected websites and files by installing a good anti-virus program on their computer. “I advise users to install AVG which is a free anti-virus program. In a perfect world, I would advise that users try to avoid visiting infected websites, but I know that’s not possible.”

If your computer becomes infected with a virus, spyware, or other infection, the best thing to do is take it to the nearest computer store, such as Volunteer Computers, Inc. which is located at 415 South Lindell Street, inside RadioShack. The certified, courteous staff will be more than happy to assist you so that you can get back to your holiday shopping spree.