I have Internet security on my computer. It is up to date. Why did I get a virus?

Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to be 100% protected against malware getting to your computer, even if you have the very best protection against it. The two biggest holes in your computer's security are you and what I call "The Gap".

Firstly, "you" is a human being, and "you" is often busy and distracted. "You" makes mistakes, especially when "you"'s mind is elsewhere, maybe trying to figure out what pictures "you"'s best friend is sending, or why said best friend is asking "you" to click that link in his/her email.*

Needless to say, even I can be "you".

So "you" downloads those "photos" (really malware) or "you" clicks that link and then, sometimes days later, "you"'s PC starts acting up. What happened?

Well "you", in combination with "The Gap", conspired to cause this. So what is "The Gap"?

When a new piece of malware (bad stuff), is released, someone has to determine that it exists and report it to the Internet security companies. That takes some time, maybe even several days.

Once it has been submitted, the Internet security companies must analyze it and determine (a) if it is a new piece of malware, (b) how to fight it, and (c) get the new definition(s) into their latest definition release. There may also be a period of time before it gets installed on your computer. All this adds up - sometimes as much as a week goes by between the release of the malware and the first definitions getting published.

I often say, "someone has to be first". What that means is that even a non-virulant malware can infect your PC before your Internet security company can truly protect you. After all, someone has to be first.

While the gap may exist for many years to come, Internet security vendors are constantly trying to improve their products in order to anticipate the methods malware may use to break through. One way is to build a software engine that anticipates viral-type activity, meaning that, even though the virus is unknown, it may use an already known method of attack or some other behavior that can be detected before it infects your computer. The use of heuristics is improving, allowing security products to look at anything attempting to change your PC's environment and block anything suspicious. None of it is perfect, though.

Until this stuff is totally bulletproof, we must be diligent!

By the way, for all the Apple users out there, vigilance is VERY important. We have been lulled into a feeling of invulnerability and safety. At some point, we will come under attack and the very things mentioned in this post will bite us in the butt HARD. Follow all the suggestions made on how to protect yourselves, or you WILL be sorry.

If you think you may be infected with something new, you can report it to McAfee, Symantec (Norton), or Trend Micro by clicking the links and following the instructions.

Here is a list of posts from my site that talk about some of the more recent threats and how to protect yourself as best as possible from them. Some of the suggestions are about keeping your security software up to date, and some are visual and "common sense" things to know so you think before clicking that link or opening that attachment.

Be careful out there!

For a list of services that Plait Solutions can provide for you, please visit our main site.

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* - Be aware, and this is posted elsewhere on this site, that infected emails often spoof who they come from. In other words, when an email's intent is to get you to do something you know you shouldn't do, it will disguise its sender as someone you know, even if it is not. Read through that post to see how you can detect this and prevent a problem for yourself. DO NOT rule out a phone call to the supposed sender.