Viruses and other infections can come from just about anywhere. Opening an email, visiting a web site and internet file sharing all can be trouble. Never think just because you have anti-virus your computer is safe. The same holds true for anti-spyware and firewalls.

Even though nothing is bullet proof, here are the best ways to keep your computer running:

• Make sure your operating system has all of the current service packs.
• Your Windows updates are up to date. Check for them daily.
• Your anti-virus subscription is current & virus definitions are the latest, no more than 14 days old. Most anti-virus subscriptions are only valid for a year.
• Make sure your Internet browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari & Opera browsers are current.
• Be careful of what sites you visit.
• Use caution when downloading from social networking & file sharing sites.
• Be aware that even though an email may look like it came from a friend or co worker; It may contain dangerous attachments posing as jokes or documents that they may not have sent, but their computer did, due to a virus or worm.
• Double check any links sent to you before visiting the site, simply by moving your mouse over them to reveal the url, without visiting it.