It seems to be a normal day, you get on your computer and get ready to either work or surf the Net. But as you get on, you notice that your computer is acting strangely – it’s slower than normal, pop ups are popping up all over your desktop, or you’ve discovered a program that you don’t remember installing.

Chances are – your computer is infected.

Computer viruses have been around for a long time, but have gained in number as more and more people have gotten computers and thus, have gotten online.Confused? Here ‘s a little help . What is a computer virus? Think of it like a cold for your computer; viruses can infect your system and then begin to literally wreck havoc on it, such as deleting files, sending out viruses to your friends (through your email program), take you to pages that you didn’t want to go, or even steal your identity and financial information.

Prevention of getting a virus is a simple process:

Make sure that you have an antivirus program running on your computer and make sure to update it.

Don’t click on links unless you’re sure of their content and authorship. This is especially important when checking emails.

If you think you’re infected, try running your antivirus program. Sometimes, you may need to reformat your computer.

Because of the popularity of the Internet and computers in general, viruses can lurk anywhere. The important thing is to be on the look out on anything that you feel is suspicious.