Your Computer is at Risk! 

The average home / small business computer is at risk for a virus / spyware infection or even open to attach and theft.  After looking at multiple home and small business computers, the most common problem is - none existent or limited antivirus protection.  Most have a false sense of security, relying on the antivirus that came preloaded on their computer, not realizing that it expires after a year!  This essencially renders it useless, since new viruses are discovered almost daily.

The Problem -  Virsuses
Let me shed some like on a common misconception:  Not all viruses cause your computer to slow down or crash.  There are many different types of computer viruses, ranging from the annoying popups to the deletion of files and hardware damage.  Some viruses work in the background (unnoticed by the average person), sending out SPAM to your friends and colleagues / Opens a back door for hackers to connect and steal software or personal data (Social Security numbers or credit cards number, etc) / slowly distroying files until it crashes your computer.  If you are not convinced, there are other viruses that simply wait until a unprotected machine is connected to the internet, then it infects that machine and does whatever damage it likes.

While I could go one forever explaining the risks of viruses and what they can do,  it is essential that you protect your computer now!  You may have a virus and not even know it!

The Solution - Antivirus
Does your computer have a Antivirus?  Some examples of commonly preloaded antivirus programs are - Norton or Symantec Antivirus, Mcafee, PC-Cillin, etc. .  If you have an antivirus, check to ensure that the subscription has not expired.  You can do this by Launching your Anitivirus program and look at the date of the last update. 

Your Antivirus program should update itself at least once a month.

You may choose to purchase a new subscription or use a free antivirus product.  Free antivirus programs are only "free" for home / non-commercial use.  That means, small home businesses should purchase licenses for any computers used for their business.

Some Free antivirus programs are:
Avast home edition
AntiVir personal edition
AVG antivirus

Free Online scanners (scans your computer now, without installing anything):
http://housecall.trendmicro.com
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan