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Imagine this scenario.

You get back to your job after a long, relaxed weekend. A cup of coffee in your hand, you start to work through the quite numerous emails in your Outlook inbox. Something from the receptionist, something from an engineer...suddenly your screen is black. You check the connections, which are fine, then you try everything you know to fix the computer; basically, you yell obscenities and hit it. Finally, you call the tech support guy in your company over to have a look. He does what he knows; basically, he yells obscenities at it and hits it. Soon, he decides to take it back to his office to take a look at it. A few minutes (or hours, depending on how good your tech support guy is) later, you get the call, and your computer is pronounced dead.

Was there a power surge? Nope. Did your hard drive crash? Not exactly. Normal wear and tear? Hardly. You’ve just become a victim of a new type of computer virus, and your precious data is obliterated. Now, all the hard work you’ve done over the past weeks is gone, not to mention any precious photos or other irreplaceable files you might’ve been storing on the company megabyte...all because you opened one email.

The Usual Suspects

Internet security is an ever increasing problem, and a costly one. Luckily, with a little bit of forethought and some luck, you can avoid potential problems and keep your computer running smoothly. For starters, it’s good to know what you’re up against. Here are a few definitions for the most common web-threats.