As I am writing this I am cleaning two PCs that have suffered virus attacks and have another on the way. This is a common occurrence and for any I.T. firm one that is quite a revenue stream. However, given a few good housekeeping tips you can avoid the expense of having your computer cleansed and here is how:

1) Free or low-cost anti-virus software is about as valuable as the initial cost suggests. Indeed, many virus checkers of this ilk are viruses themselves. Avoid them! Go for a known name. We use ESET which is an excellent product and has consistently performed well in independent comparative testing and often being the best at virus detection.

2) Always patch your system. Always accept the Microsoft Updates when the little yellow shield appears in the system tray, do not just rely on the automatic update feature, run the windows update feature found in the program menu every once in a while because sometimes the automatic update mechanism can need updating itself. This is especially true with Service Packs as you will not receive updates after a service pack release until you install the service pack itself. Currently XP is on Service Pack 3 and Vista Service Pack 2. Check in the System dialog found in the control panel to find out which service pack you are on.

3) Use the latest browser software ALWAYS. The Internet Browser is one of the areas your computer is attacked from most often. Using the most up-to-date version of your preferred browser ensures that any known security flaw that has been patched is patched on your system. Internet Explorer is currently on Version 8 and Firefox is on Version 3.

4) Never read email that comes from a person or organisation you do not know or do not expect email from. I cleaned a machine the other day which had a virus picked up from opening an email purportedly from the courier firm DHL. The person wasn’t expecting a delivery but opened the email anyway and inadvertently installed a Trojan on their machine.

5) Never install software from a website you do not know and trust. Remember the best safety mechanism when using a computer is your own common sense. If it is too good to be true; it probably is and if you do not know the source consider any software dangerous.

6) When unsure about some software Google the name of it and see what others say.