Blog Journal #8

Chapter eight dealt mostly with security issues, ethics and emerging technologies. One thing that I truly found to be most useful in regards to today’s computers was the section on viruses. Because of many programs today that allow you to download music, movies, pictures, games, and much more it makes it much more likely for you to bring viruses into your computer. Hackers and people that send viruses are becoming more intelligent in the ways they deliver viruses, and they are being more difficult to identify and get rid of. There are many software programs that you can purchase in order to prevent or get rid of viruses, although they must be updated on a regular basis as viruses are becoming increasingly advanced. It is now necessary to inform students about these viruses and several ways that they can attract them in order to prevent a hardship or crash in your computer.

I guess I am the type of person that needs to learn the hard way because since my last blog post I received a virus on my computer and had to send it away to be fixed. I had kept getting pop ups for while stating that my Norton Anti-Virus protection had expired, but I decided to put it off. It was not a very good idea on my part because I attracted a “Trojan” virus and could not get rid of it by simply purchasing Norton again and running it. I had to send my computer back home to Miami, so my family’s computer technician can fix it for me. It is a frustrating problem that I am sure can be fixed by a few simply procedures, but they have to be taught in order for them to be prevented.

I recently discovered that there are many “free” anti-viruses on the internet that you can download, and my recommendation is that you do not use them. There is small print that you should read in detail before downloading it. For example many are only thirty day trials, or they do not protect or even detect all or major viruses. Therefore it is worth the money to go out there and buy one. The only free antivirus downloadable from the internet that I have found to work amazingly well is called AVG. I have it on my desktop in Miami and have never really had a major problem with the computer. I do not know if we have been lucky but the anti-virus has certain protected the computer. AVG is free for an entire year and informs you when there are updates available. Now I know that you should now be lazy when it comes to getting a proper antivirus on your computer because it can cause severe damages to your computer.