To Follow Computer Virus

Computers are becoming more and more indispensable day after day. They have become primary repositories our digital photos, documents, invoices, multimedia etc. The sheer volume of computer users and the advent of cheap always-on internet connections has made computers an attractive targets to hackers distributing viruses, spyware and other malicious software.

You might have an anti-virus software installed in your computer that auto updates itself against latest threats. if you haven’t, here are MakeUseOf’s recommendations for the best free antivirus you can get your hands on. In addition to that, it is always a good idea to keep yourself on top of what exactly is happening in the computer security front. Viruses and other threats have a tendency to replicate themselves, making it tough for security software vendors to issue a patch. We have compiled a list of reliable official and independent sources that publish computer virus news and alerts as and when the outbreak happens.

Official Sources

ESET Threat Blog

ESET is a trusted name in the desktop security business. They won the hearts of both enterprise and home users alike with their rapid virus signature updates, sometimes multiple times a day, if necessary. They maintain a fantastic ESET Threat blog to keep everyone up to date on any new virus or malware threats. The blog is updated regularly and in addition to providing the latest information on viruses, they post lot of useful data walking users through tips & tricks to avoid skimming, phising etc. ESET updates the blog with content that serves everyone – from newbies to White Hat hackers.

Posts detailing as to how the malware underground works, how BlackHat hackers distribute malware via online games, how botnets manipulate the stock market are some of the interesting topics covered in the blog.

Trend Micro Threat Encyclopedia

Trend Micro is one of the pioneers in the computer security business and they have put up a threat encyclopedia to keep their users in the know of the latest computer virus news and alerts. Recent strains of malware, spyware and vulnerabilities are segregated in their respective tables, with an appropriate risk rating. Clicking on the malware name opens a pretty detailed advisory as to how this malware harms the desktop and the platforms it is active on.

McAfee Virus Information

With a global map showing virus threat levels, list of recent threats to a general purpose threat meter, McAfee’s Virus Information page is put together very well. There are free resources to teach beginners about various threats like virus, malware, spyware etc. and how to identify one from another. Free virus specific diagnostics and removal tools can also be downloaded from here.

Norton Threat Explorer

Being a name synonymous with the computer security industry, Norton maintains an exhaustive threat explorer index. You can check out all the latest computer security threats listed in a single page in alphabetical order and can even search for a particular virus if you know the name.

Securelist

Securelist is a computer virus threat information portal maintained by Kaspersky Labs. They list recent virus descriptions found, in depth reviews of Malware behaviour on test systems, news & analysis of hot security topics, Monthly malware statistics and a lot more related to information security.