Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
I’m often asked if free antivirus apps are as effective at protecting a Windows PC from virus infections as their “paid” counterparts.
And I must say, that’s an excellent question.
Back in the early days of home computing my answer would have been a huge NO because the free antivirus programs available at the time were indeed inferior to the commercial programs.
But that has changed over the years…
Unfortunately, in the Internet age, viruses and other forms of malware tend to spread like wildfires, and it’s getting harder by the day to keep your devices from getting infected by them.
That’s why it’s important to install a high quality antivirus program on your Windows computer, keep it updated at all times and perform a couple of on-demand malware scans on a regular basis.
Macs aren’t as likely to get infected with malware as Windows machines, but it’s happening more all the time. That’s why I recommend running frequent scans with Malwarebytes for Mac.
With all of the above being said, a little due diligence can go a long way towards keeping your machines safe as well. [Read more…]
Have you ever downloaded a file from the Internet and worried that it might be infected with malware?
That’s a real concern these days with all the malware that’s floating around the web.
It’s getting harder by the day to know exactly which sites to trust since malicious files are even making their way onto legitimate download sites.
Luckily, it’s pretty easy to determine whether any file on your computer is malware-free or not by running a couple of simple scans. [Read more…]
Question from Deidre: I have a Smart TV and my mom told me she heard on the news that viruses can infect smart TVs and we need to run virus scans on them.
I didn’t even know a TV could catch a virus.
Is that true? And how do I run a virus scan if it is? [Read more…]
Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter
Question from Geneva: I keep reading about all the computer viruses going around and how they can cause you a bunch of problems.
I’m a complete dummy when it comes to this stuff, Rick. How can I find out if my computer is infected? [Read more…]