Expert Q & A

How can viruses, worms, and Trojan horses get onto my computer?

These days, computers usually get infected through email attachments, Internet downloads, instant message attachments, and other types of network based file exchange. Increasingly, malicious code can be triggered simply by visiting a website or viewing a message in the preview pane of your email program. You should also be cautious whenever you insert or attach anything that can copy files to your computer, such as a CD, DVD, or portable disk drive.

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Am I creating a security risk when I leave my computer turned on and connected to the Internet 24/7?

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