First, I read an article yesterday (here’s the link: http://www.slate.com/id/2281938/) about a “weapons-grade” virus that was used a few months ago to completely shut down Iran’s nuclear sites.  Did you hear anything about that at the time?  Neither did I.  Apparently, hackers have created a sort of super-virus that is virtually indestructible (at least in Iran).  And no one really knows (or no one is saying) where it came from.  According to the article, the virus probably set Iran’s nuclear program back a couple of YEARS.  Wow.

Now I don’t bring this up to frighten you (no one is aiming a weapons-grade virus at your personal computer), and I don’t bring this up to start some kind of political discussion (please believe me, I don’t want to talk about Iran’s nuclear weapons).  I only bring it up to illustrate the fact that new and better viruses are appearing constantly.  All.  The.  Time. So that means you can’t let your virus protection lapse for a month and hope for the best.  It means you can’t assume that the computer from which you rarely access the Internet is fine without anti-virus.  Anti-virus programs exist to fit every budget and every situation.  You must, must, must have some form of anti-virus protection on your computer.  Call us at Beasley Technology if you need advice or assistance.  We have free and paid options available.

The second reminder came in the form of an e-mail.  In the last two days, I have received 4 e-mails from a friend, each of which contained only a link with no other text.  The e-mails came from an old account that my friend never used.  So instead of clicking the links and getting whatever virus was being distributed (and no, it was not the nuclear-site-shutting-down, weapons-grade virus), I texted my friend and said, “Hey, are you sending me links from your old Hotmail account?”  He texted back and said, “I shut that account down months ago.”  Well somehow, a “bad guy” is using that account to send out spam.  If I hadn’t been vigilant and careful, I would now be fighting a virus.  My anti-virus would probably have caught it, but it could still have been a big headache.

The lesson here is that you have to be careful when you are wandering around on the Internet, even though you have anti-virus protection.  For example, say I carried a gun for protection (I don’t, and please see the previous no-political-discussions disclaimer.)  That’s all well and good, but it still wouldn’t be smart to go wandering through a dangerous neighborhood at night.  By the same token, a bulletproof vest doesn’t give you license to walk into the middle of a gun battle.  Protection exists to help reduce unknown risks; it doesn’t give you carte blanche to engage in risky behavior.  The same is true when you are on the Internet.  If you are extra careful and always think things through, your anti-virus will have less work to do on your behalf.

So I’ll say it one more time.  You have to be careful on the Internet, and you MUST have anti-virus protection on your computer.  If you stick with reputable, well-known sites and are extremely careful with clicking on videos or links, your anti-virus software should take care of anything unexpected.  And if you have questions or need help, call Beasley Technology at (918) 225-6900.