There are lot of ways that makes computer unusable - hardware burnage, software corruption, viruses, spywares and other malicious softwares (malware). Here are some tips and tricks which will make computer run in safe and sound mood.
Virus:
A virus cannot operate or function unless it has been permitted to do so. How then is a computer infected by one? Obviously, no self-respecting virus would call itself a virus. More often than not, a virus works under a guise. It'll assume the name and file type of something and trick users into executing the file. For example, a mail attached with a .zip file. Given the .zip is a virus, running it will execute the virus and give it permission to light a match on your system. Thus kablowie. Thus death. More or less, sort of.
Impornant note:
Most malicious softwares and files work under guises. No self-respecting computer user would willingly invite in the death of their machine.
Spyware:
As the name suggests, a spyware is usually installed discretely (once again, not without the user's execution), taking a ride on the backs of softwares like Kazaa or some shady toolbar that apparently features amazing searches. Effects are usually heavy duty performance degradation, extreme system usage, and network traffic, among other things making your PC slower than a snail.
Spywares are often used to gather information about the user- browsing habbits, important numbers, etc. Spywares will sabotage your computer, much like a spy would- unplugging that power cord here, lowering the back gates there to make way for more, slipping chilli down gun nozzles, and so on forth- uh, only metaphorically of course.
Trojans:
A sort of malware that takes on the guise of something of useful to gain access and permission to, again, play with fire in your system. It's usually the beginnings of a great big headache- the name is derived from the story of the Trojan Horse. And we all know how that turned out, right?
Messenger infection:
Don't ever easily submit your email and password to any website that asks for it. The site will use your account credentials and login to your account, sending the same link (or a virus file in the form of archives) to everyone online. The links are apparently about sites to find out who blocked you, or may pretend to house interesting pictures. Unwitting users may find themselves infected. This particular case with the messenger can usually be solved by simply changing your password.
Antivirus:
One of the questions that everyone asks everyone else is about anti-viruses. What anti-virus should I get? Is it good? Do I have to upgrade it? How often? Does it protect from spywares, too? Where can I get it? Etc.
In my long run of computer using history, I've used Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro PC Cillin and several others, popular as well as less known. The first three mentioned are in no way an efficient solution. It'll usually take up a huge chunk of your hard drive space, CPU and memory usage bogging down performance. Ironic, right? Free anti-viruses and anti-spywares aren't always enough and they always run the risk of being malwares, themselves. ESET's Nod32 works very good, though. It needs to be upgraded to a full version to allow more than 31 day trial, however.
Important tips and suggestions:
Although defragmenting your hard drive can seem like a bother, it's very important that you do it regularly. The more cluttered your partitions are the slower the response you'll get. Just start the defragmentation when you go to sleep, or go out for lunch, or whatever. Every little bit helps.
Whatever antivirus you get, keep it regularly updated. Keep firewalls always turned on to block incoming network attacks. Confirm that your antivirus can handle spywares too. Some are two-in-one packages. Never open up a flash drive or an mp3 player without scanning and cleaning it first. Almost all computers these days are infected with something, and easily spreads via portable devices. If you're about to visit a website, and your instincts say that it's shady, look it up on Google. McAfee's http://www.siteadvisor.com/ is actually pretty handy. Their automated system sucks, but the user reviews are plenty helpful. Oh, and try to steer clear of crack sites, unless you really need it. A single click on an 'okay' button can spell disaster.
It's probably useful to keep your important documents and files away from the system drive. Just in case something goes kablowie, you won't have to lament over very important and very lost documents.
