Protecting yourself from a virus
Protecting yourself from a virus
What's coming up
Getting a virus on your computer can affect how well the computer works. Thankfully, there are easy ways to protect yourself from them so that you may never have to deal with one.
In this activity, we're going to look at what a computer virus is and the three steps you can take to help avoid one:
- Think before you click.
- Keep a backup.
- Get antivirus software.
What is a virus?
A virus is a type of computer program that you may get if you download something from untrusted websites. Instead of receiving what you think you're downloading, you get you a virus in its place.
What can a computer virus do?
A computer virus can do range of things to your computer, including:
- deleting or locking documents on your computer so that you can’t open them
- forcing your web browser to open web pages you don't want to open
- causing advertisements to constantly cover your computer screen.
So what steps can you take to avoid them?
Step 1 - think before you click
To avoid your computer being affected by a virus, you should only download from trusted sources, such as:
- websites of organisations you know or have a relationship with
- websites that show the padlock symbol
- websites that show https://
- websites with a 'Contact Us' page
Step 2 - keep a backup
Be sure to make copies of important photos and documents onto a hard drive, DVD, or USB. You can also make printed copies if you have a printer.
With a good backup plan, you can still have access to your valuable information if your computer is affected by a virus.
Step 3 - get anti-virus protection
Make sure you have antivirus software on your computer. This will help defend against a computer virus infection and keep your documents safe.
We'll tell you more about antivirus software in the next activity, What is antivirus software?
Avoiding a virus
Which two steps can you take to avoid downloading a computer virus?
Use antivirus software
Click to flip
Correct
Use trusted websites
Click to flip
Correct
Look for the key symbol in the browser
Click to flip
Incorrect
A padlock symbol (not a key) helps you know a website can be trusted.
Congratulations!
Well done, you've finished the Protecting yourself from a virus activity, and understand the three steps you can take to prevent having to deal with a computer virus:
- download only from trusted websites
- keep a backup of your files
- install antivirus software.
You can learn more about antivirus software in the What is antivirus software? activity, coming up next.