This Christmas, Stay Away from PC Viruses

Christmas is that time of the year when everyone is in a frenzy buying gifts for everyone on their list. The holidays is also the time when millions of people all over the world use shipping companies to send gifts to their families and loved ones. However, a computer virus is now spreading around in emails which target people who use courier services for their presents. These computer viruses may not be harmful to your health like body viruses, but they can sure be harmful to your wallet. Experts estimate that computer viruses cost Americans hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

Roland Mahaffey, Geek Squad manager at Sherman's Best Buy says that "viruses and software removal are about 98% of the work that we do at the Geek Squad." Mahaffey says that the easiest way your computer can be damaged is through viruses on the Internet. Recently, a virus which first surfaced several years ago is making a reappearance which is already wreaking havoc on computer users everywhere.

The virus works by sending an email which appears to be from couriers like FedEx or UPS, saying that a package you have sent can't be delivered, and asks you to click on an attachment to print out an invoice. What users do not know is clicking on the attachment will already activate the virus which can be greatly damaging to your computer. Effects can range from simply slowing down your computer to complete system failure of your whole computer. To prevent being victimized by computer viruses, it is best to contact the courier company directly with whom you have sent a package to check the status of your delivery. Always make sure that you do not click on any attachments especially if you are not sure about the source of the email.

Those who have encountered viruses through email in the past are now more cautious when it comes to opening email from unknown senders. Computer experts say that this is a good strategy as you never know when a strange email will turn out to be harmful to your computer. You can also take advantage of numerous cyberdefender free trial and cyberdefender free download available on different Internet sites. The holidays is a time for merry cheer, and not having to worry about computer viruses gives you one less thing to think about during this already very frenzied season.