This kind of protection, however, comes with a price and most of the good virus scanners require a subscription fee so you can get real-time protection from the latest viruses through automatic updates. If you aren’t ready to install a virus scanner because of cost-related reasons, follow these techniques on how to protect your computer from viruses until you finally get a fully-featured anti-virus solution.

Disable the Autoplay Function on Removable Drives

When other computers are infected with viruses, the infection secretly spreads to any removable disks like flash disks and external drives that are currently connected to the system. This gives the chance for the virus to spread to other computers if executed. Viruses inside removable drives usually execute themselves by taking advantage of Windows’ Autoplay feature. The Autoplay feature is supposed to be for CDs and DVDs, but it can also be possible to use it on flash disks by instructing the computer to run the virus as soon as it’s plugged in.

Depending on your settings, this might not always occur, but the virus can still be executed just by double clicking the drive’s icon, which normally activates the Autoplay program. Fortunately, this can be disabled so you can “skip” the virus by applying a small registry tweak that disables Autoplay only for removable drives.

Activate your Firewall

Windows XP and greater versions have their own built-in firewall that restricts certain data from going in and out of the system. Many of the viruses rely on the Internet to spread or send critical data to the attacker. A firewall can disable this functionality and it may even prevent suspicious programs from entering your system. This isn’t always reliable depending on the virus, but it does add a decent layer of security without affecting your productivity.

Update your Windows and Other Applications

Microsoft and possibly other developers of your other favorite applications occasionally release updates to patch security holes and fix vulnerabilities that viruses and trojans take advantage of. By keeping your system and other applications updated at all times, you have better defense against the older forms of viruses that may still be spreading around. Enable “Automatic Updates” in your “Microsoft Update” and let it do the job in updating your computer.

After you have done these three layers of protection, concentrate on getting a virus scanner as soon as possible or use a freeware solution for the meantime. The more layers of protection you have, the better you can prevent viruses from infecting your system.

This goes the same way for home users as well because more people are using their home computers to go online and visit plenty of websites and keep in touch with others. An unprotected home computer may also be infected with viruses if people open suspicious e-mail attachments or plug in any flash drives from infected sources. Home computer virus protection software is available online to serve home users and is usually much more affordable than the business anti-virus solutions.

Free Anti-Virus Protection

Free anti-virus software are popular because they work a lot like other commercial anti-virus. Programs like AVG are complete with full scan features that try to find viruses in all areas of your computer and real-time protection to further protect you from other viruses that try to enter your system.

If you encounter more complicated viruses that AVG cannot handle, you may need a commercial virus scanning solution. Most of the commercial solutions allow you to download the virus scanner for free, but have a time limit. When the time limit expires, core features are deactivated requiring you to purchase the program. Make use of the trial period to take out any viruses that free solutions fail to do.

Commercial Anti-Virus Protection

Now that you have the money to buy an anti-virus software, you can finally prepare yourself for lasting home computer virus protection. But you should spend that money on the right anti-virus solution so you have maximum protection and good usability. Some of the best anti-virus programs may not be very friendly to home users so alternatives should be considered like MacroVirus.

MacroVirus is a reliable virus scanner that has all the features that the popular products have and sports a user interface that should appeal to average computer users. Its real-time protection features should be enough to keep the viruses at bay without slowing down your computer so much.

It is best to install the anti-virus solution that you are most comfortable with so you know exactly how to deal with any suspicious files that may be viruses in disguise. It should also be accurate enough to detect any hidden viruses that are in your system. Commercial anti-virus solutions like MacroVirus are your best bet for total protection.