Unfortunately, we have all been here before. You get an email from a friend you haven’t talked to in over five years. Excited to reconnect, you open the email and find a bare link with no other descriptions. When you click the link, you get redirected to a faux-site that is asking you to enter your contact information. Unbeknownst to you, this is actually spam and a virus. Your computer is infected and in a few short days, you start getting emails from angry friends upset that you have sent them a virus. How could this happen? How can this be Read below and find out to how to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!

In 2014, there seems to always be some kind of scam. Whether it the kind that track your information, or flat out empty your bank account, scams are everywhere. You have to practice discipline when your online. Here are a few tips:

Avoid Phishing Scams. These are the sites that look just like normal sites, but usually you followed a link in order to get there. NEVER enter your contact information here.

Don’t Use Obvious Passwords. Often, passwords that are too simple such as: password, user, 1111, abc, etc. can easily be hacked. Use a password only YOU would know and save it in case you forget.

Know Your Location. Virus infections often occur away from the users home. Don’t log into the public library, a friends house, or a colleague’s computer. It’s one thing to surf the web, it’s another to do online bank from a public computer.

Virus Protection and more Virus Protection. You can never be too safe, especially with Windows computers. Make sure you are ACTIVELY scanning your computer and attempting to eliminate potential threats.

Skip It. If you are afraid that you will be missing out on something by opening a fishy email, just skip it! Contact the person directly first. Virus infections can be serious trouble.

Proper judgment will prove vital in regards to virus protection. If you have ANY doubt it is better to be safe than sorry. Not only can you infect your own computer, but other people on your contact list. If you feel you may have infected someone’s computer with a virus unknowingly, or that you may have been hacked, please contact a computer repair company who can dispatch a technician to help you.