Summary

No guarantee certifies that having antivirus software will stop all viruses from reaching your computer. One thing that is guaranteed is that if you do not use antivirus software, you will become infected by a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other form of malware at some point. It is not if, but a matter of when.

Antivirus is also not the only precaution that is necessary to combat viruses. Firewalls (see Chapter 1), operating system updates (see Chapter 4, "Tip 4: Keep Your Software Updated"), and common sense (see Chapter 10, "Tip 10: Use Common Sense") are also integral parts of the strategy you need to implement to minimize the chance of a virus infection and subsequent effects.