Long ago, way back in the 1980s and 1990s, if you wanted something on your computer, you had to buy a program and download it yourself onto the computer. These days, we can simply download most of what we need straight from the internet. While this is amazing, in some cases when we download a song or a game or software, we also are downloading malware. You can protect yourself from malicious downloads by following a few of these security questions.
In general, there are plenty of well-known trustworthy sources out there where you can download and feel pretty secure about it. For instance, you probably are pretty safe downloading a new song from iTunes or an e-book from the Kindle store at Amazon. Companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google and other big names typically are safe, but there are plenty of other sources of downloads that are much more dubious. If you are downloading a free game from a source you don't know, you also might be downloading a "free" computer virus. If you don't know the source, do research about it prior to the download.
When you download a file, it will have an extension on the end of it. For instance, you might download a file that says computer.exe. This ".exe" is a file extension, and it often is attached to malicious software programs. Other extensions such as bat, pif, doc and scr might also be dangerous to download.
One of the easiest ways for malware to spread around is through email. While an email from an unknown source is easy to simply delete, we tend to open emails from co-workers, friends and family. Often these people will send perfectly legitimate links to a video or a specific website. On the other hand, sometimes the email will look a bit odd and ask you to click on a link with little or no explanation. This often means your friend's email account has been hacked and if you click on the link, you will be hacked as well. Hover over the link, but don't click on it, and check to see that the source matches the description. For instance, the email might say "check out this YouTube video," but the link actually doesn't go to YouTube, but some other site. Don't click on these links and when it doubt, just delete the email.
Often when we are searching for something, such as a specific song or maybe a movie to download, we find a site offering the item for free. Copyrighted items, such as books, movies, music and games rarely are free and often these sites are offering illegal, pirated downloads. Not only are you breaking the law when you download illegally, often these sites are simply scamming you and what you are really downloading is malware. Never download from an untrusted site and if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is fraudulent.
If your PC does become infected, removing the malware can be tricky and time-consuming, so it's often easier to simply call in a Portland computer repair expert to handle the job for you. GeeksAKnockin', for instance, offers computer support in Portland, computer support in Hillsboro, computer support in Gresham, computer repair in Beaverton and throughout the Portland area.
In general, there are plenty of well-known trustworthy sources out there where you can download and feel pretty secure about it. For instance, you probably are pretty safe downloading a new song from iTunes or an e-book from the Kindle store at Amazon. Companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google and other big names typically are safe, but there are plenty of other sources of downloads that are much more dubious. If you are downloading a free game from a source you don't know, you also might be downloading a "free" computer virus. If you don't know the source, do research about it prior to the download.
When you download a file, it will have an extension on the end of it. For instance, you might download a file that says computer.exe. This ".exe" is a file extension, and it often is attached to malicious software programs. Other extensions such as bat, pif, doc and scr might also be dangerous to download.
One of the easiest ways for malware to spread around is through email. While an email from an unknown source is easy to simply delete, we tend to open emails from co-workers, friends and family. Often these people will send perfectly legitimate links to a video or a specific website. On the other hand, sometimes the email will look a bit odd and ask you to click on a link with little or no explanation. This often means your friend's email account has been hacked and if you click on the link, you will be hacked as well. Hover over the link, but don't click on it, and check to see that the source matches the description. For instance, the email might say "check out this YouTube video," but the link actually doesn't go to YouTube, but some other site. Don't click on these links and when it doubt, just delete the email.
Often when we are searching for something, such as a specific song or maybe a movie to download, we find a site offering the item for free. Copyrighted items, such as books, movies, music and games rarely are free and often these sites are offering illegal, pirated downloads. Not only are you breaking the law when you download illegally, often these sites are simply scamming you and what you are really downloading is malware. Never download from an untrusted site and if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is fraudulent.
If your PC does become infected, removing the malware can be tricky and time-consuming, so it's often easier to simply call in a Portland computer repair expert to handle the job for you. GeeksAKnockin', for instance, offers computer support in Portland, computer support in Hillsboro, computer support in Gresham, computer repair in Beaverton and throughout the Portland area.
About the Author:
Frankline Bell loves blogging reviews on computer repairs and support companies. For further details about the best computer repair Hillsboro Oregon professionals or to find out more about Portland computer repair services, please check out the GeeksAKnockin.com site today.
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