Just as in a human all sorts of ailments crop up when affected by an attack of virus, so it does for a computer, with an attack of computer viruses. The ailments of the human are, to a greater extent, more complicated than that of the affected computer, but then, the computer is not as complicated a piece of machinery as a human. However, an ailment is always nasty, and for proper and continued functioning of the machinery, the attacking virus has to be expunged from the system as early as possible, to keep the computer clean.

An attack of virus or malware, as it is also known, can destroy the hard disk, or corrupt data, or spy on you, or hand over the control of your system to another person. However, there is no reason for anxiety. There is no need to assume that the whole hard disk is to be wiped clean. When trying to clean the computer, there may be some data loss. But, you may not necessarily lose all the data.

First and foremost, it must be ascertained if you really have an attack of computer virus. Some vital symptoms are sluggishness of operation, inability to access files, browser going off to an unrecognizable site, etc. On the other hand, the hard disks may spin unnecessarily; your computer may act strange or may even lock up.

If you suspect an attack of computer virus, the best process would be to run anti-virus software to clean the computer. Some viruses are clever enough to stop anti-virus software from functioning. For such cases, running the anti-virus from a CD/DVD or a flash drive may be necessary. Investing in good anti-virus software and keeping it enabled in your system always, is prudent.

At this point, it may seem that if anti-virus software is so good, why not have two? This may not be a good idea, since anti-virus software uses up quite a bit of computing power, and two of them might slow your system down to a crawl. Also, most anti-virus programs are not mutually compatible and one may claim the other to be a computer virus!

Anti-virus software is an unavoidable requirement if you are using a Windows Operating System. Good and safe habits can help avoid computer virus attacks, but then people who make their living writing computer virus programs, are always on the lookout to finding new methods of attacking computers. There are several of the security tool virus removal programs available in the market. While some are free to use, others have to be purchased. Most of the free programs will not have the entire capability of the purchased versions.

With the anti-virus software, you will have a choice to select for cleaning up a computer if a virus is discovered. This may range from deleting the infected file, to quarantine it in a safe place, to try and repair the file. The best option would be in a sequential manner to try to repair the file, if possible. Failing this, to quarantine the file for a later try at cleaning it, and ultimately, if all else fails, to delete it from the system.

Computer security has become an important issue for our lives as a new security breach is being investigated almost everyday. When getting the advices on security, the following guidelines can help you to choose the most reliable information available.

Some of the established websites such as Cnet, MSN and Download.com offers the programs and security tips for the computer security. It is important to check the reviews from the users and choose the top rated products to secure your computers.

Another hint to follow is to check the ownership of the website that you are obtaining the information. This verification let you know whether the website owner/author has the required knowledge for the computer security. For verification, you can check “about” section of the website.

More information on computer security and useful tips, you can check CleanPC.org.