Best way to stop a computer virus

Don't open email messages from unfamiliar senders, or email attachments that you don't recognize - Many viruses are attached to email messages and will spread as soon as you open the attachment. It's best not to open any attachment unless it's something you're expecting. For more information see: Protect yourself from phishing. Use a pop-up blocker with your internet browser - Pop-up windows are small browser windows that appear on top of the website you're viewing.

Although most are created by advertisers, they can also contain malicious or unsafe code. A pop-up blocker can prevent some or all of these windows from appearing. The pop-up blocker in Microsoft Edge is turned on by default. If you're using Microsoft Edge, make sure SmartScreen is turned on - SmartScreen in Microsoft Edge helps protect you from phishing and malware attacks by warning you if a website or download location has been reported as unsafe.

For more info, see What is SmartScreen and how can it help protect me? Pay attention to Windows SmartScreen notifications - Be cautious about running unrecognized apps downloaded from the Internet. Unrecognized apps are more likely to be unsafe. When you download and run an app from the internet, SmartScreen uses info about the app's reputation to warn you if the app isn't well-known and might be malicious.

Keep Windows updated - Periodically, Microsoft releases special security updates that can help protect your PC. These updates can help prevent viruses and other malware attacks by closing possible security holes. Windows Update helps to make sure that your PC receives these updates automatically, but you may still have to restart your machine occasionally for the updates to install completely. Use your internet browser's privacy settings - Some websites might try to use your personal info for targeted advertising, fraud, and identity theft.

All modern browsers have privacy settings that you can enable to control what sites can see or do. For more information about configuring the privacy settings in Microsoft Edge see Configure your privacy settings so they're right for you.

UAC can help keep viruses from making unwanted changes. To open UAC, swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. Use care when reading emails that contain attachments A common method of infecting computers with a virus is through email attachments. Open an email attachment only after you have scanned the attachment with your anti-virus software. Email programs should not automatically open or download email attachments. Compare the email subject line with the email text contents and with the email attachment name.

Do the three make sense when compared to each. I have scanned this file with my virus scan AND I have ensured that my virus scan was recently updated. But, since much of modern malware is designed to allow remote users complete access to your system, such hacks can also be used to steal valuable personal information.

Hackers prey on folks who are trying to check their bank balances or visit their favorite e-commerce sites. By grabbing a password or two, most hackers can quickly and easily worm their way through the rest of your accounts.

The first step toward prevention is to understand the two-headed beast that is modern hacking. These days, cyber criminals are as interested in access to your online accounts as they are in access to your home computer. Most users' personal data networks exist both on their PCs and in the cloud the term for Web-based services that include online e-mail, banking, document creation and social networks where more and more of our info resides.

And many attacks take advantage of security lapses and behavioral slipups in both arenas. The easiest and most common method for bad guys to get your data is currently the phishing attack, wherein hackers create a Web page that looks trustworthy but is actually a collection point for passwords and credit card information.

Many scams involve e-mails about fake charges to your credit cards or online payment accounts. The link will direct you to a log-in Web page that resembles your bank's, but has a slightly different URL. By attempting a log-in, you inadvertently give your account number and password to a hacker. But these poisoned sites could just as easily install a permanent bit of malicious code on your computer and harvest information when you go to legitimate websites. And if that doesn't instill a sense of digital paranoia in you, consider this: A recent study by a Cisco researcher checked the effectiveness of antivirus products and found that many popular programs achieved a detection rate of less than 19 percent for brand-new threats.

Malware designed to exploit newly discovered software vulnerabilities is known as a zero-day attack. To identify malware, security programs rely upon something called an MD5 hash, a fingerprint taken of the virus on the day security software programmers discover it in the wild. Hackers using zero-day attacks take advantage of the short window of time between the malware release and the moment the hash is prepared and uploaded to your security software.

That's why the Cisco study found that after one week the security software identified 63 percent of the same threats. This is not to discount the value of good security software.

These programs may not catch everything, but they are an important line of defense against the malware onslaught and will monitor your computer's behavior for anything suspicious.

But no software can replace good security habits, most of which derive from simple common sense.