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Avoiding The Big Bad Boot Sector Virus
By Newsdesk | February 7, 2008
One of the most dreaded form of viruses are what are commonally known as boot sector viruses.Rather than populating the normal part of your disk, theseÂ
viruses populate a very important part of your disk called the boot sector (hence the name). This is a very important part of the disk that stores theÂ
information your computer needs to start up.
This can be a big problem, because a cleverly designed boot sector virus can convince your computer that there is no virus at all when it loads. The best wayÂ
to remove this type of virus is to make a backup “clean†disk.
This disk loads your computer when you stick it in the drive, so it is not loading from the boot sector, which has already been contaminated by a virus. This way, you can load your computer virus free, and then clean the virus off of it once you have installed some suitable anti Virus software.
Some people would say that the best way to prevent boot sector virus removal is to switch operating systems away from Microsoft Windows. Personally I find thisÂ
sort of advice quite alarmist.
They argue that Windows is the only system which is commonly infected by viruses. They strike macs and linux machines, almost never at all. This isÂ
because windows is badly programmed.
If, for example, you get an email with an attachment, it is designed to automatically open the attachment and to follow its instructions even if theyÂ
put your computer in danger! Mac OS and Linux both have safeguard built in to protect you from these problems, but they claim Microsoft doesn’t care aboutÂ
anything except about whether or not their system looks pretty and they are making money.
Boot sector virus removal isn’t the only protection you might need on your computer. You need spyware removal as well. Spyware is a little like viruses,Â
but much less harmful.
When you visit certain websites with spam, they will put a program in your web browser which keeps track of your information and sends it back to them. ItÂ
follows what websites you go to, what you buy, etc., and uses it to market things to you.
It also slows down your computer and opens pop-up windows which you don’t want to see repeatedly, which is very distracting and annoying.
The long and short of it is make sure your system is adequately protected against any for of virus, spam or adware wherever possible. And when (not if)Â
your purchase software for this purpose make sure you keep it up to date.
Information courtesy of computer repair hampshire part of the Computer Repair UK network.
Topics: Computing |
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