Thomas College IT FAQ Buying Anti-Virus

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"The friendships I've made at Thomas have been nothing short of amazing; in such an intimate, tight-knit community, you get to know other students quite well. These are the relationships that will last long after I graduate, some for a lifetime. I�m also really excited to think about ten years down the road and see what we�ve become, reflecting back on how our Thomas experience helped to shape and guide us."

Missy White
Presque Isle, Maine
Psychology

Should I purchase an Anti-Virus software package for my personal computer?

Anti-Virus software is a very important part to any computer system because of the damage that can be caused by viruses.

There are currently over 45,000 viruses known to exist, and more than 20 new viruses are created every day. Some of the damage that can be caused by viruses include deleting all of the files on your hard drive, destroying the hardware in your computer (including the motherboard and other system boards), and infecting files so that they can not be used again.

You can get a virus from downloading infected files, reading infected emails, or opening your files on an infected computer.

The only way to avoid the damage caused by viruses is to purchase an Anti-Virus program that will look for viruses and clean your files from these viruses.

If you do not want to pay for an Anti-Virus package, you can use HouseCall ( Trend Micro's Free Online Virus Scanner ) or Stinger (McAfee's Free Virus Scanner)to check for viruses on your computer.