This can be very bad news, especially if you don't have a current backup of your files. Even if you do have a good backup, the time and work it takes you to recover from a virus can be significant. Applications behaving erratically A system that slows down for no apparent reason Frequent system crashes Unexplained file size increases With over 45,000 known viruses in existence, your chances of encountering one sooner or later are pretty high. If you don't have virus-scanning software, you definitely need to buy some. Most antivirus software manufacturers offer periodic updates for a small fee.
New viruses crop up all the time.
Make sure that you update your virus scanning software at least every six months. Virus scanning software offers many different features depending on the software that you buy. Your software should Automatically scan floppy disks after you access files from them Automatically scan your system periodically in the background Scan files downloaded from the Internet Scan files attached to e-mail that you receive Scan your system for viruses on a regular basis. If your software doesn't automatically scan your hard disk when you turn the computer on, remember to run the virus scanning software manually.