As has been covered in our broadband security article it is very important to keep your computer protected from viruses.

The best way to do this is in the form of anti virus software. There are plenty of anti virus software packages you can choose from that will either cost you or you can get for free!

Other than anti virus software to help protect your computer there are a few simple rules and things you can do while you use your computer. It is worth making sure everyone who is going to use the computer is also aware of these things as they don't take long to read and could well save you allot of time and hassle in the future.

First things first, make sure your anti virus software is turned on. There is no point in having anti virus software if you do not have it switched on and performing it's checks to keep your computer safe.

The next thing is to make sure your anti virus software is kept up-to-date. The amount of people who have anti virus software on their computer yet never take the time to update it so it has protection for all the latest viruses is unbelievable. In most cases to update your ant virus software requires 1 or 2 clicks of a button and then the anti virus will automatically update in a matter of seconds. Yes, literally a few seconds of your time can be the difference in your computer getting infected with a new computer virus or not! It is advisable to make regular checks to see if new updates to your anti virus are available, this should be carried out at least weekly.

If you hear of a new virus or worm on the news or through word of mouth then be on the safe-side and check for an update to your anti virus. The anti virus companies once they find a virus are usually fairly quick at creating an update to protect your computer.

Away from the anti virus aspect of keep your computer safe from a virus you have a few more things you can do to keep your computer safe, the majority of which are common sense and just being vigilant.

If you receive an email with an attachment and it is not something you are expecting (even if it is sent from someone you know) then don't open it. First check with the sender if they actually sent it or not (the same applies when you are sending an attachment, make sure you let the person receiving the email and attachment know that you are sending it so that they know it's OK to open and not to just delete it. Many email viruses send themselves to people through the users address book and they can even manipulate the email to include your name and make it sound like a personal email so be vigilant. If you have any suspicions then DON'T open the email or attachment. Delete it!

Another tell tale sign of a potential virus in an email attachment is if it has a double ending. For example the file is called "funnypicture.gif.exe".
This is designed to make the file look like it is a .gif image file when it is in fact an .exe executable file that once opened will automatically run a program (virus/worm).

With your email account set up Spam filters, there are a good way to get spam and also known emails that contain viruses sent to a spam folder so you can better access if it is a genuine email or not.

Some email providers such as Yahoo! actually have spam filters in place and also have virus checking in place. In many cases they actually can detect if the email attachment has a virus or not and will stop you from being able to download it if so! You must still follow the rules above to make sure any potential viruses that may have been missed don't infect your computer!